Porn czar gets shafted

Limpopo police have put Thohoyandou's controversial porn producer under surveillance to ensure that he did not go ahead with the filming yesterday of a traditionally themed "Venda porn" movie at a secret venue.

The owner of Hanzam's TV Movies "adult shop", Zwoluga Madega, 34, raised the ire of VhaVenda traditional leaders when he announced early this month that he was to shoot a porn film on Youth Day, with actors wearing traditional VhaVenda attire.

He had booked the Thohoyandou Indoor Sports Centre as the venue, but Thulamela municipality withdrew permission when the proposed filming made headlines.

According to Tshivhase royal household chief Luvhaivhai Tshivhase, it was decided at a meeting with the police on Saturday that the "evil" recording should be stopped at all costs.

"We cannot have our sacred traditional attire attached to this evil act," he said.

Tshivhase said the police followed Madega wherever he went yesterday and confiscated pornographic material, which he said would be burned.

He said choosing Youth Day for the recording of "immoral acts" was an insult to the youth of 1976.

Madega has produced two editions of Venda Porn and was to shoot the third, Bush Pie #3.

"He has been doing this for some time but we did not know about it," said Tshivhase.

"We will never allow our young people to be taken advantage of for money because this will encourage prostitution and fuel the spread of HIV."

Tshivhase said that he "did not have a problem" with foreign-produced porn but was against "local content".

Madega said last week that the porn shoot would go on as planned but at a 200-seat secret venue that he said was "fully booked".

He said he had sold tickets for between R250 and R500 at his sex shop in Thohoyandou.

The Times located the undisclosed venue in Thohoyandou yesterday but it was deserted and Madega was nowhere to be found.

He did not take calls and people said he had gone into hiding.

"People are angry and some have threatened to kill him," said a local hairdresser.

Police spokesman Major Mashudu Malelo said: "We are watching the situation but cannot divulge anything at this stage."