‘This is devastating for me and the kids’, says slain activist Owen Ndlovu’s wife

Former SABC sports commentator and businessman Owen Ndlovu has been found dead after he was kidnapped on Tuesday night.

Ndlovu, an influential and vocal critic of the South African Music Rights Organisation (Samro), was found dead with gunshot wounds in Tokoza, Ekurhuleni, on Wednesday morning.

His wife, Portia Ndlovu, confirmed his death to Sunday World on Wednesday.

Kidnapped while fetching wife from church

On Tuesday night, online publication Africa Daily was the first to report that Ndlovu had allegedly been kidnapped in Katlehong by armed men while he was in the area to fetch his wife from church.

According to the publication, Ndlovu, who was also a music rights activist, was found dead by residents in Tokoza on Wednesday morning with what appeared to be gunshot wounds.

Sobbing and heartbroken, Portia said:

“I can confirm that my husband is no more. I saw his body, and this is devastating for me and the kids.”

Africa Daily reported that Ndlovu was allegedly kidnapped in front of his wife and thrown into the back seat of his vehicle. His 4X4 Ford Raptor was later found abandoned in Walkerville, Midvaal, where it had allegedly been partially stripped.

‘Found dumped next to the road’

Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi confirmed to Sunday World that Ndlovu had been hijacked and kidnapped in Katlehong on Tuesday night before the discovery of his body.

“His [Ndlovu] body was found dumped next to the road. A postmortem will be conducted to establish the cause of death. The Germiston Trio unit is now investigating a case of murder. Anyone with information that can assist with the investigations is requested to contact the Crime Stop Line at 08600 10111.”

Nevhuhulwi said the incident occurred at about 8pm on Tuesday.

“As she [Ndlovu’s wife] approached their vehicle, three unknown men, one reportedly armed with a firearm, suddenly approached them, pushed her aside and forced her husband into the back seat of his Ford Raptor bakkie. The suspects then drove off with the victim. The hijacked bakkie was later recovered abandoned in Walkerville,” she said.

She said police have launched a manhunt for the the three suspects.

Crucial Samro court appearance

Ndlovu’s body was found on the eve of a court appearance he was expected to attend at the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, September 17, in connection with his long-running dispute with Samro CEO, Annabell Lebethe.

The court appearance was linked to an interim order sought by Lebethe against Ndlovu, which was dismissed in July.

According to court documents seen by Sunday World, Lebethe had been instructed to appear before the magistrate on Thursday.

Ndlovu was expected to seek an order confirming the dismissal of the interim protection order and to challenge what he described in his affidavit as an order that had been granted erroneously.

He had also sought access to Samro’s offices after claiming that Lebethe had allegedly instructed security guards at the organisation’s headquarters to prevent him from entering the premises.

Ndlovu had maintained that the allegations against him lacked a factual basis.

Long-running battle with Samro

Sunday World has extensively reported on the dispute between Samro and Artists United, in which Ndlovu and Lebethe had been at loggerheads.

The dispute formed part of a broader conflict involving governance issues at Samro, allegations of corruption, litigation over commercial leases and an ongoing defamation case.

Lebethe approached the court in March last year, alleging that Ndlovu had harassed and intimidated her through threatening communications.

She also raised concerns about his conduct at Samro’s Johannesburg offices and comments he made during a podcast.

Court rejects harassment application

In a judgment delivered on July 17, Johannesburg magistrate Monique Anne Thirtle discharged an interim protection order granted in March 2025.

The magistrate found that although Ndlovu’s conduct included one intimidating message, it did not constitute a sustained pattern of harassment as defined by law.

The court heard that both parties worked from the same building in Braamfontein, although on different floors.

Ndlovu’s company, One Rights Management CC, had previously provided services to Samro before its contract and lease agreement were terminated.

The judgment also outlined a history of disputes between the parties dating back to 2023, following the commissioning of the Fundudzi forensic report into alleged misappropriation of funds at Samro.

The court noted that Ndlovu had publicly challenged Samro’s leadership, called for the removal of board members during the organisation’s annual general meeting and reported alleged corruption involving Lebethe and the board chairperson to the police before the harassment application was launched.

One of Lebethe’s complaints centred on a WhatsApp message sent by Ndlovu in December 2024, which she described as threatening and intimidating.

Thirtle accepted that the message could reasonably be interpreted as harassment.

“The court is satisfied that the first message sent in December 2024 can be construed as harassment,” the judgment states.

However, the magistrate found that a single incident was insufficient to justify a protection order because harassment generally requires repeated conduct or behaviour causing ongoing fear or serious distress.

Firearm incident

Another major issue before the court involved an incident on March 5 2025, when Ndlovu allegedly entered the Samro building carrying a licensed firearm.

Lebethe alleged that his presence with the firearm intimidated staff and was directed at her.

However, witnesses testified that Ndlovu never removed or brandished the firearm and repeatedly stated that he was carrying it for his own protection following previous confrontations with security personnel.

The court found no evidence that Ndlovu had attempted to confront Lebethe.

“Merely carrying the weapon is not sufficient to amount to harassment. The respondent was not there to see the applicant, never made reference to the applicant and stated in no uncertain terms it was for his protection,” the magistrate ruled.

The court also declined to treat comments made by Ndlovu during a later podcast as harassment, finding that they related primarily to allegations of corruption and governance at Samro.

Those statements are already the subject of separate defamation proceedings.

Magistrate criticises incomplete application

The judgment found that Lebethe’s application omitted material information, including Ndlovu’s statement that the firearm was carried for self-protection and the fact that his lease had already been terminated before the March incident.

“The interim order was obtained on half truths and incomplete information that was indeed detrimental to the respondent,” the magistrate said.

Although the court stopped short of finding that Lebethe had abused the legal process, it warned against using harassment legislation for purposes other than protecting genuine victims.

Quoting a recent High Court judgment, Thirtle cautioned that protection orders should not be “weaponised to punish rather than to protect,” adding that misuse of the legislation could undermine confidence in the justice system.

The court ultimately dismissed the application, discharged the interim protection order and ordered each party to pay its own legal costs.

**READ: Owen Ndlovu hauls SABC before Competition Commission **

Ndlovu’s death now adds a tragic and deeply unsettling dimension to the long-running disputes surrounding Samro and the music-rights activist.

‘The manner in which he was murdered is very suspicious’

Ndlovu’s colleague and Artists United (AU) chairperson, Eugene Mthethwa said it was tragic that the activist had been murdered while fighting for the rights of people in the music industry, particularly musicians who struggle to access royalties owed to them.

“The murder of Owen shocked me and many others in the industry, and he was a fighter who believed in his cause to fight for the rights of the artists. As Artists United, we are also worried that the manner in which he was murdered is very suspicious as he was busy with so many cases which have been opened by him and AU, against Samro and some executives at the organisation, in which those cases were escalated to the top leadership of the police mandarins, with no arrests.

“If this was a hijacking situation, how was it possible that he was shot while running away, because the people in that area say that he was screaming as he ran pleading with those who murdered him not to kill him. If you hijack someone, you don’t chase after him after such person had abandoned the vehicle, but you take the car and do whatever you want with it,” said Mthethwa.

Mthethwa said the police investigation would ultimately establish what happened to Ndlovu.

He also expressed concern that the killing could instil fear among other activists who may become concerned about their own safety.

Meanwhile, police said their investigation is expected to establish the circumstances surrounding his kidnapping and killing, while a postmortem will determine the official cause of death.

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