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Yulith Ndlovu speaks on alleged abuse

Standard Style
Former Pax Afro lead vocalist Yulith Ndlovu has described claims that she was sexually abused by former Higher Education minister Jonathan Moyo as “utter rubbish”.

BY SINDISO DUBE

Former Pax Afro lead vocalist Yulith Ndlovu has described claims that she was sexually abused by former Higher Education minister Jonathan Moyo as “utter rubbish”.

An online publication caused a stir on social media when it published a story claiming that Ndlovu was now a drug addict as she failed to come to terms with the alleged abuse by Moyo, who was the brains behind Pax Africa.

The talented vocalist, who rose to prominence after the group released songs such as Let it Play and Tango Pal, told Standard Style in an exclusive interview that Moyo was her uncle and there was no way he could have abused her.

Ndlovu married Ronald Mathe seven years ago and the couple is expecting their third child.

“Jonathan Moyo’s sister is my mother’s stepsister so that makes him my uncle,” she said.

“We discovered that we were related during the Pax Afro days. We didn’t know that we were related.

“The allegations that Moyo sexually abused me are utter rubbish. It did not happen.”

Ndlovu said Moyo, who was Information minister at the time, did not spend a lot of time with Pax Afro band members.

“I can’t say that Moyo could have raped other girls we worked with because he was hardly ever there when we were at work,” she said.

“It was mainly the band and the producer. He (Moyo) would come once in a while to oversee the works and make changes if need be.

“He didn’t even interact much with anyone at work.

“It was more like an eight to five job in the studio and Prof would normally come once or twice a week.

“There was no time that one could say they had a conversation with him. He kept it as professional as possible.

“There was no time to joke and we didn’t joke about anything. It was strictly work.”

Ndlovu was flanked by her husband and their two daughters during the interview. She now sings at a church in Bulawayo where she is an active member.

The songstress said she had received a lot of messages from people that read the story or who had come across social media posts about the alleged abuse. However, Ndlovu said the rumours had not affected her family as they knew it was false.

“To be honest, I can’t really say that we as a family we are affected by these rumours, but my main concern is the people that are around me,” she said. “The people I minister with in church are the ones that are unsettled by the stories because when it all came out I started getting messages and phone calls from people who were shocked about the claims.

“I found out that it affected more people around me, but my family was not affected because they knew it was a lie. As you can see, we are a normal family.”

She also laughed off allegations that she was now a drug addict.

“I don’t know where this is coming from,” Ndlovu added. “As you can see, I am pregnant and I am happily married.

“We are a normal family with our kids. “In my condition I can’t even take alcohol left alone drugs.”

Ndlovu said she had not spoken to Moyo in a very long time. After Pax Afro disbanded, she relocated to South Africa before returning home to work with a number of music groups.

“I stayed in Cape Town for a while and did a couple of functions there before I decided to come back home and worked with Jazz Invitation for five years,” she said. “I did a lot of functions with them and then worked with Kwekwe Band. I don’t know where they are right now.”

For now, Ndlovu is not thinking about producing music as she wants to concentrate on her family. “At the moment I want to deal with my pregnancy and to take care of my family,” she said.

“I am still in music, but it’s different and not the way people wanted it to go. A lot of people keep asking me why I have been quiet for so long.

“But now Jesus Christ is at the centre of my life and my family. “It’s not easy for me to just get up and say I want to do this.

“What I am doing now has to add value and we are ministering in church. That’s my main preoccupation now.”

Ndlovu said she had been working on some songs over the years but she was not sure when they would be released.

Moyo, who is in exile, accused the Central Intelligence Organisation of fuelling the rumours through the online publication, Harare Post.