The Greatest Dancer and Strictly Come Dancing star’s sister Motsi revealed their half-brother Neo “killed himself with a poison” aged just 18 when Oti was a baby. Motsi, who dances on German show Let’s Dance, added following their brother’s death, their family was seen as having “negative energy”. She added: “Because the people of Africa are very religious and superstitious, something bad arose in our neighbourhood.” Oti’s sister continued: “Because of this rumour, no one came to us any more, because it was feared that the bad energy applied to the visitor.”
Neo had a different father to Oti, real name Otlile, and her two sisters.
But Motsi said Neo saw the success of their mother and sisters’ father Peter.
Oti's father Peter currently works as a High Court judge in Pretoria, while their mother worked as a nursery school teacher.
In Motsi’s book Chili in the Blood: My Dance Through Life, obtained by The Mirror, she said: “Neo had witnessed the rise of my parents.
“He still remembered the cramped life, which for us younger siblings was more of a narrative than a truly experienced reality.”
Discussing how they found their love for dance, Oti’s sister went on to say their mother converted an empty office into their own personal dance studio.
Oti Mabuse: The Greatest Dancer star's half-brother 'killed himself' aged just 18 (Image: BBC•WENN)
Oti Mabuse: The Greatest Dancer's brother
