A trail of unpaid debt amounting to more than R1.4m left behind by a former ambassador, including for a luxury Range Rover sport SUV, is causing problems for his estranged wife.
Jerry Ndou, 64, a former MEC of co-operative governance, human settlements and traditional affairs in Limpopo, has gone underground, leaving his estranged wife, Octavia, with unpaid debt.
Ndou also had a stint as a deputy speaker of the Limpopo legislature.
Octavia, who has been separated from Ndou for more than 15 years, told TimesLIVE Premium that the former South African ambassador to Zimbabwe has disappeared, leaving behind a trail of unpaid debt which now threatens her Northcliff home, which is in both their names.
A writ of execution against Ndou, which TimesLIVE Premium has seen, shows that he owes Standard Bank R798,819 for a Range Rover SUV, while a separate court action against him states he owes R723,609 for unpaid rent in Polokwane where he lived in 2021 during his tenure as MEC.
Ndou has been has been hauled before the Limpopo high court for failing to pay his R20,000 a month rent, despite earning an MEC’s salary of about R2m.
Approached for comment a week ago, Ndou, who responded to a missed call from TimesLIVE Premium, said questions should be sent via WhatsApp and he promised to respond.
However, he had not responded by the time of publishing and could not be reached as his phone rang unanswered for more than a week. He had also not responded to TimesLIVE Premium’s calls and texts.
Octavia has, for a year, been spending her money on lawyers in a bid to keep a court sheriff at bay to save her home.
“I have been separated from him for over 15 years. In a way I was comfortable with the arrangement hence I never pursued divorce, though I knew it was inevitable,” Octavia said.
She said despite being married to Ndou for 25 years, they were together for just seven years.
“The rest of the 18 years we were separated,” Octavia said.
She said she was advised by the sheriff of the court to file for divorce or risk incurring all Ndou’s debts. However, locating Ndou has been a challenge for her as he did not take her phone calls.
“He is an impostor. It is not the first time. While he was still an ambassador in Zimbabwe he bought a BMW X5 and it ended with a sheriff wanting to attach the furniture,” Octavia said.
Octavia, who is now in the process of commencing divorce proceedings, said she wanted nothing else to do with Ndou.
She said she got hold of Ndou this year where they handed him divorce papers which he promised to sign before disappearing into thin air.
“I want him to sign the documents that my lawyer gave him. First, the divorce paper and second the papers that say he should sign his 50% of the house where I stay to me,” Octavia said.
She said she wanted nothing else from Ndou, including another house he apparently owned.
“He can keep that house. I want the divorce finalised, I want to forget I ever met him,” she said.
She said she was angry that Ndou had opted to be dishonest with her.
“I am very angry. I don’t drive cars that I do not afford and I don’t live a fake life. I am very angry I have been paying lawyers since last October to keep the sheriff from my door while he is in hiding,” she said.
Isaac Mahlangu
www.timeslive.co.za
