The High Court in Thohoyandou is expected to sentence comedian and social media influencer Livhuwani Madadzhe after he pleaded guilty to fraud charges.
Madadzhe faked his mother’s death in 2017 to claim funeral policy payouts, even erecting a tombstone to support the fraud. He succeeded with one claim but was unsuccessful with a major bank after his sister alerted them their mother was still alive.
Sentencing was delayed in December when his legal team withdrew due to unpaid fees. A Home Affairs official is also implicated for allegedly assisting in falsifying death records.
Madadzhe is separately facing a murder charge in connection with the death of his partner, Lindelani Nengovhela, whose body was found in a pond behind their home three years ago. That trial is ongoing.