‘Scandal!’ Actor Litlhonolofatso Litlhakanyane and Family Abandon Vaal Home As Sewage Takes Over

• The family of Scandal! star Litlhonolofatso Litlhakanyane abandoned their three-bedroom Tshepiso Phase 4 home in 2022 after enduring sewage flooding for over a decade
• Litlhakanyane's mother, Palesa, described destroyed floors, ruined furniture and broken appliances caused by untreated waste repeatedly entering the property
• Residents across Tshepiso Phase 4 face the same nightmare, with many unable to afford relocation despite years of sewage pouring from drains, toilets and manholes

Award-winning Scandal! actor Litlhonolofatso Litlhakanyane's family has abandoned their renovated three-bedroom home in Tshepiso Phase 4 after more than a decade of relentless sewage flooding linked to failures by the Emfuleni Local Municipality. The family walked away from the property in 2022, taking little more than the clothes on their backs.

Litlhakanyane's mother, Palesa, spoke to News24 about the years of anguish the family endured before making the painful decision to leave. She said untreated waste repeatedly entered the home through the municipality's infrastructure, causing damage that steadily stripped the house of everything that made it liveable.

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Why Scandal! star's family abandoned home

The destruction was extensive. The Bird Boy star's mother said the floors and interior doors were ruined, wooden furniture was reduced to waste, and several appliances, including the refrigerator, stopped working altogether due to the damp, contaminated conditions. At one point, she was told to approach NGOs for help replacing what had been lost.

"When they advised me to seek help from NGOs, I realised just how much we had lost," she said.

When News24 visited the now-abandoned property, sewage was still streaming from one of the two stormwater drains in the yard, moving towards neighbouring stands before reaching a stream connected to the wider river system. Palesa described years of living under a persistent stench, in damp rooms, unable to comfortably prepare or eat meals in her own home. After exhausting every avenue, she gathered her children, including the Festival International Issni N Ourgh du Film Amazigh (FINIFA) winner, and they left, carrying nothing but what they were wearing.

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She is now seeking compensation, arguing that the municipality must be held accountable for damage caused by waste entering the property through its own pipes.

Neighbours trapped by the same crisis

The Litlhakanyane family's experience is not isolated. Residents across Tshepiso Phase 4 report the same conditions, with raw sewage surfacing from drains, toilets and manholes throughout the neighbourhood. One resident reportedly had to bury his mother while untreated sewage covered parts of his yard.

Many families are considering leaving but simply cannot. Years of savings were poured into improving their RDP homes, and walking away would mean losing both their investment and the properties themselves. For those residents, relocating is not a choice the municipality's inaction has made available to them.

Litlhonolofatso Litlhakanyane bags SAFTA

Meanwhile, Briefly News reported that Litlhonolofatso Litlhakanyane bagged an award at the South African Film and TV Awards (SAFTAs), cementing his position as the country's best child actor.

Litlhakanyane bagged the award ahead of veterans Sello Maake ka Ncube and Jerome Du Plooy.

Source: Briefly News