Family shattered by news of death of top farmer

A successful chicken farmer of North-West, with his roots in Vhembe, Mr Musoliwa Peter Tshikhudo (46), passed away in the Louis Trichardt Memorial Hospital on Friday.

He is a younger brother of Limpopo Mirror’s journalist, Elmon Tshikhudo.

Tributes and condolences are pouring in from all the corners of the country. Among the first to send their condolences was the spokesperson for the Premier, Mr Kenny Mathivha, who took him under his wing at the South African Bureau of Standards when he was fresh from university. "He persisted that I hook him up with Cyril Ramaphosa, which only happened eight months later. I am so saddened; he died so young and we will miss him dearly," he said.

His younger brother, Dr Aluwani Tshikhudo, says his brother was a man who ploughed back into the community. He did not neglect the communities in North-West where he had his business. He had a 54-hectare farm with an annual turnover of R8 million a year.

Back home in Venda, he sponsored an annual local tournament, the Nungo Dza Vhahali Sports Tournament, where the community of Phiphidi outside Thohoyandou would participate in all sporting codes and win kits and prizes. “Death has robbed us of a priceless and precious jewel that is irreplaceable,” says Tshikhudo.

Born at Dzindi, Tshisahulu, in 1973, he attended the local school and completed matric at Lwandani Secondary school in 1995. He then went to the Randse Afrikaanse University where he completed his bachelor’s degree in communication science. After completing his degree, he worked for the South African Bureau of Standards in their communications department.

That was before he surprised everyone when he left the posh office for overalls. That happened when he started Shumani Broilers in Koster in North-West Province. His hugely successful business supplied 3.6 million chickens per year. He attributed his success to the department of agriculture’s BSSA Core Programme training he received in 2003.

Although he grew up under a father who was a successful crop farmer, he was always grateful for the loan and training he got from the department and soon repaid the loan. He had more than 100 people in his employ. Like his father, he was also in crop farming.

He will be buried tomorrow (Saturday) at the Phiphidi cemetery after a service at his home in Phiphidi. The funeral will start at 06:00. He is survived by his mother, wife, children and siblings.

News - Date: 22 August 2019

Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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