Trouble in paradise: Lerato Kganyago moves out of the house as her marriage with Thami Ndlala gets ugly

South African media personality and Metro FM presenter Lerato Kganyago’s marriage to businessperson Thami Ndlala is on the rocks.

According to reliable sources, Kganyago allegedly moved out of the Steyn City home she shared with Ndlala and returned to her own house in Ruimsig, north of Johannesburg.

Cracks started appearing in the power couple’s union after Ndlala opened a case of theft against their domestic worker and her husband at the Douglasdale Police Station on Wednesday.

The businessperson accused the domestic worker of stealing a television set and two watches worth R3 million (which were uninsured) from him.

However, his wife of two years raised eyebrows when she came out in defence of the domestic worker, deposing her own police statement to the effect that the items to which her husband was referring had not been stolen, but were rather given to the helper more than a year ago.

Such gifts, she added, were not unusual, as the domestic worker and her husband had often been given items such as clothing and household goods.

Now sources close to the couple have revealed that the dispute is just the tip of the iceberg, as friction has been brewing in the Kganyago and Ndlala love nest for some time.

A friend of the couple said that the arrest of the domestic worker – who is still in police custody – had pushed media personality Kganyago to boiling point.

The source said:
The domestic worker and her husband were arrested at the Douglasdale Police Station. They had left with Lerato when she moved back into her own house last week. They’ve been working for her for over 10 years, since long before she married Thami.

Ndlala allegedly laid the charges of theft on Wednesday to spite Kganyago, as she is close to the domestic worker.

“The complainant alleged that, on the above mentioned date [November 8 2022] and at the above mentioned time [9pm], he was looking for his items when he realised that the television set and two Patek Philippe?watches were missing. The watches are worth R3 million and are not insured. He has two domestic workers from Zimbabwe and suspects one of them, who has access to his house,” read the police statement regarding the case.

Police spokesperson Mavela Masondo confirmed that police were investigating a case of theft and that the suspects had appeared at the Randburg Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

However, a source close to the couple that Kganyago had intervened and attempted to get the domestic workers released.

“The couple was arrested on Wednesday and still hadn’t been charged by Thursday, when Lerato sent her lawyers to try to get them out because no one knew what was happening,” said the source.

Another individual said that the domestic worker and her husband were allegedly owed close to R76 000 by
Ndlala, who had not paid them for work they had been doing in his hotel in Northcliff.

“Lerato and Thami have separated acrimoniously. Their case is with their respective lawyers,” added the person.

Ndlala and Kganyago were married in a traditional ceremony at her Boksburg home on March 21 2020. The festivities later continued at Ndala’s then home in Sandhurst.

The pair have been the envy of many since then, with Kganyago receiving exorbitantly expensive Valentine’s Day gifts from Ndlala.

Ndlala denied the allegations of their separation, saying that Kganyago visited their Ruimsig home regularly, especially at month-end.

Ndlala said:

Her moving into the house she owned before we got married isn’t a new thing. She also stays there when I’m travelling, just to ensure that things are in order at the house.

He added that Kganyago had nothing to do with the case against the domestic workers, as only his belongings had allegedly been stolen.

Another source close to the couple said that Kganyago “gave her statement in support of her domestic worker because she truly understands what it feels like to be marginalised based on your social standing”.

“She really doesn’t like the way Thami’s vilifying their housekeeper just because she chose to leave the marital home with Lerato. This guy is abusing our justice system with fabricated lies. A six-year-old has to date spent four nights without his parents, all because a narcissistic man feels scorned by his wife leaving him.”

This statement was made in relation to the domestic worker and her partner’s six-year-old child left in Kganyago’s care since the pair were arrested.

Kganyago had not commented on the matter by the time of going to print.