The death of Lumko ‘Johnson’ Leqela may still be a hard pill to swallow for friends and family, but new developments have since surfaced and cast a shadow of doubt on the nature of the star’s passing.
Family of Lumko Johnson wants answers on cause of death
The former YoTV presenter was laid to rest on Friday, 23 September 2022, at a private funeral attended by some family members and loved ones. A day later, their body was cremated.
In a statement released on the star’s Instagram page on Wednesday, 14 September 2022, the day of their death, the family described the loss as “gut-wrenching” and “untimely”.
“Lumko lived a life filled with purpose and authenticity. As we process this shock as a community, let us remember their light in this world,” the family wrote at the time.
However, explosive allegations made by members of the Leqela family have raised questions about Lumko Johnson’s cause of death and, more interesting, the behaviours exhibited by those close to them before and after the funeral.
In an exclusive interview with Swisher Post, two of Lumko Johnson’s close relatives pointed out three family members who supposedly know what exactly happened to the media star: Their mother, Nombulelo Felicia, her ex-husband, Ndimphiwe Ngani and their son, Siviwe.
“As a family, the whole Leqela family, we did not even see the face of Lumko. We did not even see Lumko in the coffin. Those are the three people that are sitting with information and they don’t even want to share with the family,” our source, whose identity has been withheld for security reasons, told us.
The many versions of how Lumko Johnson died
According to the insider, Lumko Johnson’s biological father was not informed of their untimely death and the mother, Felicia, allegedly gave relatives different accounts of what happened to the former YFM radiocaster.
Firstly, Lumko’s mother claimed they “collapsed at work”, which, upon further probing, it was determined that this was not true.
“Then [she] came with the second story [that] Lumko collapsed in [their] apartment and was found by the younger brother which is Siviwe, and then they took Lumko to hospital,” the source revealed.
Apparently, as Siviwe and the mother were desperately looking for parking, “they realised that Lumko [was] dead in the backseat.”
“Who finds someone collapsed and [does] not call the ambulance?” the family member asked.
The third version allegedly spewed by Lumko Johnson’s mother was that they died after drinking a potent cocktail of antibiotics and Dettol detergent.
“As a family we said that is rubbish! [They were] a smart kid! If [they] wanted to do anything that is funny, I’m sure [they] would have found maybe a better pill…” the relative claimed.
Speculation about suicide did surface on social media shortly after Lumko Johnson’s funeral.
However, we spoke to a close friend of the media star, who stated that while one never truly knows the mental health battles friends endure, Lumko did not, at any point, exhibit red flags.
The friend, who asked to remain anonymous, revealed that Lumko had recently disclosed that they were living with an unspecified medical condition. Even so, the friend added, this could not have possibly been a good enough reason to take their own life.
“I don’t think they gave up, one, and two, I absolutely do not think they were capable of taking their own lives. Like I said, I could be wrong, people we live with around us are always keeping things from us, but from the things they did not keep from me, from the things they shared and revealed, no man. We had so many plans!” the friend said.
Moreover, the friend added, Lumko had planned to spend their birthday on 29 October 2022 boycotting the Johannesburg Pride, and they had other things in the future to look forward to.
“I remember speaking about how we are boycotting Pride, Joburg Pride in particular. We support all the other Prides, but we were going to boycott Pride. We were going to have like a nice breakfast between friends, and then have a couple of drinks, and then maybe, once we were a bit tipsy, we’ll just go check out what the gays are doing at Pride,” the friend revealed.
A family torn by a mysterious death
Questions raised about the nature of Lumko Johnson’s death have, according to our insider, driven a wedge between certain family factions.
Swisher Post also spoke to another relative, who played a crucial role in raising Lumko Johnson as a child in the Eastern Cape.
The woman, whose identity has also been withheld, revealed that she, too, was never informed of how Lumko Johnson died.
Instead, not only was she fed different versions of what happened, but she was also one of the relatives allegedly chased away from the media star’s funeral by the younger brother, Siviwe.
The relative revealed that the family attended the memorial service held in honour of Lumko Johnson at the Market Theatre on Tuesday, 20 September 2022, where Felicia was visibly distraught and unable to hold back the tears.
However, three days later, when the relative and two other family members paid their respects to Lumko Johnson at the funeral, they were allegedly chased away by Siviwe, who made it clear that they were not welcome.
“I was [shocked]. This child (Siviwe) I saw him on Tuesday (20 September 2022), and we hugged, and everything was cordial. Her mother as well. Nothing was amiss. But now, at this time, at 15:00, right at the door, ‘No, we do not want you here’?” the woman revealed.
Swisher Post contacted Siviwe for an update on Lumko Johnson’s cause of death and to get clarity on the damning allegations made by his relatives.
Not only were we met with resistance, but Siviwe also made it abundantly clear that there was nothing more to add beyond the statement released on the day Lumko Johnson died.
Left out in the dark with no information, let alone a semblance of closure, some family members have resorted to speculation in search of answers, and the possibilities are unsettling, to say the least.
“These are all the things that we are trying to figure out. What really happened? Did Siviwe have anything to do with Lumko’s death? Did they have a fight? We don’t know!… They cremated him without us even seeing the face… maybe there was a bump on his head,” the woman exclaimed.
Moreover, Felicia had allegedly promised the family a final glance at Lumko Johnson at the funeral before the cremation. However, this was never honoured and, according to the insider, Siviwe and his father, Ndimphiwe, made sure not to allow anyone near the closed coffin.
This timeline could hold crucial answers to Lumko Johnson’s death
Furthermore, family members who exclusively spoke to Swisher Post expressed their concerns about Felicia’s behaviour before and after the death of her child.
According to one insider, days before the world knew of Lumko Johnson’s passing, the Leqela family, including Felicia, attended the funeral of a brother-in-law in the Eastern Cape.
It was a Saturday, possibly 10 September 2022, and out of the blue, Lumko’s mother started crying, “and everybody wanted to know what happened.”
It’s alleged Felicia informed her family that her home had been burgled and there was blood everywhere.
“She was very worried to know what really happened. And I said, ‘so, why don’t you call Siviwe or this white husband that you live with?’, ‘oh, their phones are off,” the woman claimed.
Lumko’s mother, who had initially arranged to return from the Eastern Cape trip with her relatives, allegedly headed back to Johannesburg on Sunday, 11 September 2022.
“Then we tried to get in touch with her to find out what happened and we couldn’t get hold of her,” the insider added.
Two days went by with no word heard from Felicia about the burglary. Then, on Tuesday, 13 September 2022, on a trip back to Johannesburg from the funeral, a cousin revealed, on a call, that Lumko was in a coma.
“Then the news broke out on Wednesday (14 September 2022) that Lumko is dead. Then I called the mother. I said, ‘what really happened?’, and she said, ‘no, the journalists are harrassing me. I will get back to you’. And then from that minute, the statement that you guys see that says ‘Leqela family requested privacy’, she blocked the whole family!” the source claimed.
The insider added that the only time some family members learned of the memorial service at the Market Theatre was on YFM.
“When some of the cousins and sisters that were calling her like, ‘where can we come?’, she didn’t want anyone at her place. She said it’s messy and she just wants to clean so that people can… and we were like, ‘why would you even want to bother to clean the place, really?’
“People would just come and go, and pray and whatever,” the source revealed.
Instead, relatives found it bizarre that Felicia had insisted on hosting the pre-burial prayer sessions at a nearby church and not at her home, as per tradition in most South African households.
“Even at church, she had the nerve to stand up and say to people, ‘I know you guys you asking questions about what happened to Lumko. All you need to know is that it was God’s will'” the source said.
At this juncture, Lumko Johnson’s family remains unaware of what happened to the media star. Our sources also confirmed that a police inquest into the death of Lumko was never conducted.
