Owen Ndlovu was found dead on Wednesday after being abducted while collecting his wife from a church in Katlehong on Tuesday. Police are investigating a case of murder after local residents found his body beside a road in Thokoza, with witnesses saying it had gunshot wounds.
Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi on the abduction
Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said three unknown men approached Ndlovu and his wife as she neared their vehicle. “As she 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,” she said. “The suspects then drove off with the victim.”
Police said they launched a manhunt for three suspects and later recovered a Ford Raptor pick-up truck abandoned in Walkerville. The vehicle recovery gave investigators another fixed point in the timeline, linking the abduction in Katlehong to the search that followed later on Tuesday.
Eugene Mthethwa and the family
Eugene Mthethwa said the family was awaiting further information from the relevant authorities regarding the circumstances surrounding Ndlovu’s death. He said, “At this stage, the family is awaiting further information from the relevant authorities regarding the circumstances surrounding Owen's death.”
Ndlovu had worked as a presenter and producer at the SABC and had been involved in radio coverage of the Premier Soccer League. He later became an advocate for musicians’ rights and royalty payments, which made his killing a matter of public concern beyond his family.
Police are treating the case as murder, while a post-mortem examination is expected to establish the cause of death. That medical finding will need to line up with the gunshot wounds seen by witnesses and the sequence that began with the abduction in Katlehong.
