Owen Ndlovu to be buried at Westpark after Lenasia service

Former SABC Sport presenter and music rights activist Owen Thulani Ndlovu will be buried at Westpark Cemetery on Friday, 25 September following a funeral service in Lenasia South.

The service begins at 9am at the Lenasia South Recreation Centre, on the corner of Wimbledon and Wellington roads.

The cortege moves to Westpark, in Johannesburg’s north-west, for the burial at 11am. Icebolethu Funerals is handling the arrangements.

A memorial service will be held the day before, on Wednesday, at Walter Sisulu Hall in Randburg, from 11am to 4pm.

Ndlovu was abducted outside a church in Katlehong on the evening of Tuesday, 15 September, where he had gone to fetch his wife, Portia.

Police say three men, one of them armed, pushed her aside and drove off with him in his Ford Raptor.

Residents found his body beside a road in Thokoza the next morning with gunshot wounds. The bakkie was later recovered abandoned in Walkerville.

No arrests have been made. The Germiston Trio Crimes unit is investigating, and police are still looking for three suspects. No motive has been established.

Ndlovu built his name in sports broadcasting at the SABC before moving into production through Michaelowen Productions, which supplied radio programming to the Premier Soccer League.

He later became one of the more combative voices in the fight over artists’ royalties, campaigning through Artists United work that put him in sustained conflict with the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) and its chief executive, Annabell Lebethe.

He accused the organisation of governance failures and of mismanaging money owed to artists. SAMRO has rejected the allegations.

He was due in court in a related matter the day after his body was found; that case was postponed to 2 October.

SAMRO said it was saddened by his death and condemned violence in all its forms, adding that it would not comment on the litigation out of respect for his family.

His death has drawn tributes from broadcasters, musicians and sports figures, and has prompted speculation online about whether his activism played a part. Police have not established any link between the killing and his disputes in the music industry.

Memorial service: Wednesday, 23 September, 11am to 4pm Walter Sisulu Hall, corner Malibongwe Drive and Hans Schoeman Road, Randburg

Funeral service:

Friday, 25 September, 9am Lenasia South Recreation Centre, corner Wimbledon and Wellington roads, Lenasia South

Burial: Westpark Cemetery, 11am