Moja Love presenter Sthembele “Gogo Mathambo” Gaju received death threats from fake sangomas (traditional healers) days before he passed away.
Family spokesperson and Gogo Mathambo’s brother Sibusiso Mabena said the threats came in a form of inboxes on Facebook and SMSs.
Gogo Mathambo was also made aware of a WhatsApp group that was created by some sangomas where threatening messages about harming him were exchanged.
Following his passing on Sunday, Gogo Mathambo was lauded for his brave work in exposing fake traditional healers through his show Fake Gobela on Moja Love.
Mabena said his brother passed away in the morning on Sunday at his mother’s house in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga after what appeared to be a mild flu.
“He knew what was going to happen to him because he was receiving death threats,” Mabena said.
“He kept on saying that he was now in a new dimension spiritually and that the work he was doing had to be done by him.
“Some of the sangomas which he exposed were even saying he would not see the month of December. He knew all of these things, but he was never deterred because he was passionate about his work.”
Mabena added that when Gogo Mathambo contracted a flu, he refused to get medical attention because he knew it had something to do with the threats he was receiving.
Spiritual war
Said Mabena: “He felt fluish on Saturday and then drove from his house in Witbank to his mother’s house in Nelspruit.
“When he got home, his mother told him to go to the doctor because but he refused and said it was not a normal flu. He knew what was happening.
“On Saturday night, he slept and in the morning he didn’t wake up. He felt it in his spirit. He was aware that his show had invoked many issues within the sangoma spaces.
“He was supposed to have left the show from when he was threatened the first time, but he refused. He wanted to fight for people.”
Mabena added that the family is hurting but also comforted in knowing that he is still with them spiritually and that he fought a good fight.
“This is a very painful situation because Sthembele had recently had his dream fulfilled. We were looking forward to a lot of things as his family. He was excited to join Moja Love.
“We admire him for that. We are also a believing family, so we are very content because he knew that he was in a spiritual war.”
Gogo Mathambo will be laid to rest on Saturday in Mpumalanga. The funeral service will be held at the Kwaggafontein Community Hall and will be ministered by his former colleague and popular Bishop Isaac Makamu.
