WATCH | Alexandra mom and son living in poverty after squandering R18 million inheritance

Self-professed ‘cheeseboy’ from Alexandra township in Johannesburg, Katleho Moahloli, is a picture of sadness and poverty as he recounts growing up lacking nothing, only to blow his inheritance when the patriarch of the family died.

The 24-year-old sat with Justice Tshabalala for an episode of Justify Podcast to tell his story.

Moahloli grew up in his grandparents’ home, attending several multiracial schools and playing soccer with Mamelodi Sundown’s development team as a goalie, thanks to his grandfather’s connections.

And then the unthinkable happened.

When his multimillionaire glass engineer grandfather fell ill, his mother sold the grandfather’s successful glass business. The sick man divided the proceeds of the sale among the family members who would survive him: his estranged wife, daughter, and grandson.

How was the inheritance shared and spent

“I got R7.5 million. My granddad was the one splitting the money… He got well enough to split the money… I don’t know how my mother got her hands on my money,” Moahloli said.

“I knew about the R7.5 million because my grandmother told me. She knew what her daughter was like,” he said.

The patriarch died when Moahloli was in Grade 6, which is when he started experimenting with drugs to deal with his loss. He received R2,500 allowance every month, not conscious of where the money was coming from.

“I was buying dagga with the money, giving some to girls,” Moahloli said.

His mother later told him that the extravagant allowance was coming from his R7.5 million inheritance.

“But I don’t believe that R7.5 million ran out from giving me R2,500 allowance from 16 to 21… My mom used to go out, yo! Basically, I would say she’s blew most of the money,” he added.

“Later, I got the R1.5 million at 21, but the bigger amount came out when I was 16,” explains Moahloli.

When his grandmother died, his mother took that inheritance as well.

After receiving his money at 21, his mother demanded half of it, and he paid off her debt as well. He rented a home in Sandton, and remembers what he calls a ‘sevensome’ he had with seven prostitutes he picked up in Sandton.

On the other hand, his mother had an addiction to gambling, which is where Moahloli believes a bulk of the money went.

Life now for Moahloli and his mother

After renting their own homes in Sandton and Midrand, Moahloli and his mother are now living together in the Alexandra home he grew up in.

His mother, not having had a job since he was two-years-old, is struggling fiancially, nursing several chronic illnesses.

Moahloli works as a DJ, but the income could never compare to where he came from.

For the indepth interview, watch the video above.