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Family, friends and entertainment-industry figures gathered at Walter Sisulu Hall in Randburg on Wednesday to honour broadcaster and music-rights campaigner Owen Ndlovu. Among those paying tribute were Ntsiki Mazwai, Vusi Leeuw, Tebogo Sithathu and Mercy Pakela.
Ndlovu was 54 when he died on September 16. Police said his body was found beside a road in Thokoza the following morning, after he had reportedly been abducted outside a church in Katlehong while collecting his wife.
Speakers at the memorial remembered him as courageous and tireless, praising his deep passion for performers and his determined campaign for artists to receive fair economic rights.
Music and talent consultant Vusi Leeuw spoke about a friendship that began more than three decades ago when the pair met at JoziFM. He called Ndlovu a trailblazer and a member of South Africa’s earliest generation of community-radio broadcasters.
“Of everything we knew about Owen, I never imagined that this would be how he left this world,” Leeuw said, adding that Ndlovu had helped establish the path for community radio in the country.
Leeuw also recalled that, before his death, Ndlovu told his wife that he and performing artist Eugene Mthethwa needed to work together to help move the music industry forward.
Mthethwa became emotional as he addressed the mourners, breaking down in tears while echoing Leeuw’s assessment of Ndlovu’s character. He said Ndlovu had devoted himself not to personal gain but to defending composers and other creators.
“He fought for composers rather than for himself. He gave everything to the cause, using his own resources to take on those battles,” Mthethwa said.
The Economic Freedom Fighters MP and Trompies member said he had opened the bag recovered with Ndlovu’s body and found it packed with paperwork from the Southern African Music Rights Organisation, commonly known as Samro.
Mthethwa said Ndlovu had taken Samro to court and had prevailed in a dispute involving the organisation’s chief executive, who had allegedly prevented him from entering its building. He described Ndlovu as exceptionally careful and thorough in his legal fight.
“That bag is still with us. His death must strengthen our resolve rather than end the struggle. We have to reclaim what belongs to us instead of pleading for rights that are already ours,” Mthethwa said, insisting that Ndlovu had died defending what he believed in.
With Ndlovu due to be buried on Friday, Mthethwa said he had worked to have him laid to rest at Heroes’ Acre in Pretoria, where prominent public figures have been honoured.
“I pushed for Heroes’ Acre because he earned that recognition. He was never a coward,” he said.
Actress and arts activist Joy Mbewana said Ndlovu had been taken from those who loved and respected him, describing him as someone prepared to put everything at risk in pursuit of the truth. “The struggle does not end here,” she said.
Veteran pop singer Mercy Pakela remembered Ndlovu as a rescuer, particularly for helping her obtain a lawyer who represented her without charge in a Samro battle over unpaid royalties connected to music dating back to 1990.
Pakela said she was still struggling to accept his death, but believed Ndlovu’s fight continued beyond this life. She said his entire mission had centred on protecting artists’ livelihoods and economic rights, adding that performers would continue the work and regard him as an ancestor fighting for them in the spiritual realm.
She also criticised a system in which artists can die in poverty while officials enjoy expensive cars and lavish homes. In her view, Ndlovu had exposed alleged corruption and decay within Samro, not because he wanted to profit from artists, but because he was already financially secure and wanted justice for them.
The memorial carried an especially personal significance for Ndlovu’s family as it took place on the birthday of his son, Owethu. Taking the stage with his brothers, Owethu reflected on the lessons he had received from his father.
“I once wondered why you were so strict with me, but I understand it now,” he said.
