ohannesburg, South Africa – The iconic voice behind The Lion King’s opening chant, Lebohang Morake, universally known as Lebo M, has once again captured headlines, not for his global musical triumphs, but for a series of deeply personal and explosive revelations. In his first exclusive interview in years, the 61-year-old maestro unveiled a new chapter in his tumultuous life: a fifth marriage, a staggering $27 million defamation lawsuit, and the harrowing, previously unspoken truth surrounding the death of his infant son.
Arriving at the YOU magazine offices in Johannesburg, impeccably dressed in a sharp blue suit and black Nike sneakers, Lebo M exuded an air of both confidence and vulnerability. “I’m a newlywed,” he declared with a smile, before dropping the bombshell: “On my fifth marriage.” His new wife is 34-year-old actress and model Nomoya Dube, whom he affectionately calls “Mrs Mo.” The couple met during the casting for his upcoming docu-reality series, Last Queen Standing, and quietly tied the knot in January, deliberately shying away from the relentless media glare that has shadowed much of his adult life.
At 61, Lebo M admits a shift in perspective, prioritising commitment over casual relationships. “I started having a problem with hearing my friends in their fifties and sixties say, ‘Meet my girlfriend’,” he explained. “I’d rather be accountable to somebody other than my mother. Dating is a waste of time, energy and money.” This candid reflection comes from a man whose romantic history is as storied as his professional one, having been married four times previously and fathering eight children, some biological, others raised as his own.
Despite accumulating millions from his groundbreaking work on The Lion King and his pivotal role in elevating South African music onto the global stage, it is often his intricate love life that dominates tabloid headlines. “Only in South Africa is there always something about my personal life and bedroom,” he lamented, attributing the “desensitising” of his private affairs to the relentless pursuit of sensationalism by local tabloids. When his professional endeavours do make news, he notes, it is frequently for the wrong reasons.
Currently, Lebo M is embroiled in a high-stakes legal battle, having filed a $27 million (R459 million) defamation lawsuit against Zimbabwean comedian Learnmore Jonasi. The suit stems from a viral skit where Jonasi allegedly trivialised The Lion King’s sacred “Nants’ Ingonyama” chant, translating it as “Look, there’s a lion. Oh my god.” Lebo M vehemently refutes this, stating, “Nants’ Ingonyama is not a viral catchphrase. It is praise imbongi – royal praise poetry carried in metaphor, lineage and living memory.”
The lawsuit alleges defamation, trade libel, and “tortious interference with prospective economic advantage,” claiming Jonasi’s comments on a podcast, which have garnered over 3.5 million views across TikTok and Instagram, have not only “ruined childhoods” but also constituted a “fabricated, trivialising distortion, meant as a sick joke for unlawful self-profit and destruction of the imaginative and artistic work of Lebo M.” For Lebo M, this legal action is a fierce defence of his artistic legacy and cultural heritage, even as he navigates a new personal chapter with his fifth wife.
His romantic journey has been a public spectacle. His first marriage was to Viveca Gipson during his exile in Los Angeles, producing two daughters, Nthabiseng and Zakiya. This union ended upon his return from an African tour, with Lebo M candidly admitting, “I was a nobody. When I came back, she rightfully kicked me out.” He then wed actress Nandi Ndlovu, a marriage that lasted 11 years and produced three children, including Thembalethu, whose tragic death in 2003 remains a source of profound pain. Two surviving children from that marriage, Refilwe and Tshepiso, are among the four adult children with whom he is now estranged.
Subsequent marriages included Angela Ngani-casara, with whom he had daughter Letti, and Pretty Samuels, his fourth wife, from whom he separated in 2023. Between and after these marriages, several engagements, including to actress Zoe Mthiyane and Malefu “Mel” Ntsala, never culminated in matrimony. Lebo M openly acknowledges the pitfalls of success, confessing, “Money everywhere, women everywhere while I’m married. I was a f*****g mess.” Now, with Nomoya, he expresses a fervent hope that this marriage will be his last.
However, the most heart-wrenching revelation concerns the death of his son, Thembalethu, who was just 14 months old. Publicly reported as a drowning in the family swimming pool in Dainfern, Johannesburg, Lebo M’s world was shattered in May 2006 when he collected the autopsy report from the Douglasdale Police Station. “Shortly before he died, he was anally violated,” he disclosed quietly, presenting a copy of the autopsy report to verify his claims. A young nanny, hired just five days prior, was found guilty of negligence and paid a R3,000 fine, a verdict Lebo M believes was a grave miscarriage of justice. He remains unconvinced that his son’s death was an accident, stating, “I’m not trying to bring him back. I’m trying to find out what really happened to him.”
The grief nearly consumed him, leading to a “huge confrontation” with Nandi in August 2005 in Los Angeles, which resulted in his arrest for arson. Facing a potential seven-year prison sentence, he was instead ordered to undergo nine months of rehabilitation. Remarkably, from within rehab, he secretly negotiated and closed a R25 million deal to bring The Lion King South Africa to Montecasino. That court-ordered rehab, he asserts, saved his life, and he has remained sober since August 21, 2005.
Today, his focus is firmly on his two daughters still at home, Letti and Lulonke. “They are my church. If I failed the other four [estranged children] – and it’s a big if – I cannot fail these two.” While his relationship with his four adult children remains strained, he has made peace with that reality, stating, “It’s up to the mothers. I just have to keep going.” Lebo M is now planning worldwide solo concerts and is actively involved in the production of Last Queen Standing, a docu-reality series that promises to offer an intimate look into his life, with Mrs Mo by his side. He is, he says, writing a new chapter, hoping this time, it will be one of lasting peace and stability
