Publicist Lerato Sengadi emerged victorious in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Friday after being lawfully named the customary wife of deceased rapper Jabulani ‘HHP’ Tsambo.
Her application to halt his funeral, however, was denied by Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng on the grounds of Ubuntu, and because HHP was a public figure.
OVERVIEW: Judge rules Lerato Sengadi the customary wife of HHP, interdict to stop funeral denied
HHP’s family initially denied that Lerato was their daughter-in-law.
Now that she has been lawfully classified as the rapper’s widow, what does this mean for the former Big Brother Africa contestant?
It has not yet been determined if HHP had a will at the time of his death. According to the Intestate Succession Act, if the deceased dies without a will, the law of intestacy will determine who the beneficiaries of the deceased will be.
This means that the estate will either first go to the spouse of the deceased, the descendants of the deceased or if the deceased dies without a spouse or children – the estate will go to his living parents.
Since HHP has a 13-year-old son, Leano Khanye, the estate in accordance to intestacy might have to be divided equally between Sengadi and Leano.
It was also ruled that all of Jabba’s belongings that were taken from Sengadi by the family of the deceased must be returned to her.
In the affidavit presented to the court by Sengadi, however, the former Big Brother Africa star stated that she was not in it for the money and respected Jabba’s wishes to bequeath his estate to his son, Leano, in a trust.
HHP will be laid to rest on Saturday at Mmabatho Convention Centre at 07:00.
Also read: HHP memorial and funeral details confirmed
