Durban - Popular maskandi artist Khuzani Mpungose is in a bitter fight with his reality show producer over the proceeds of the show that was aired on SABC 1 last year.
Khuzani, popularly known as “Indlamlenze” is one of the most famous maskandi artists with a sizeable support base.
Among his achievements, his song Ijele, was voted 2020 summer song of the year on the SABC radio stations.
He also successfully led a massive Gcwalisa Mabhida (Fill up Moses Mabhida) maskandi concert in 2019.
As a result, Khuzani earned the first-ever reality show to be produced for a maskandi artist which was filmed concurrently with one of his fierce rival, Mthandeni “Gcokamelisha” Manqele.
The 13-episode reality show revealed the life of the Nkandla-born star, shot to fame after working on the album of the late maskandi legend ‘Mgqumeni’ - who passed away while his last album was incomplete in 2009.
While Khuzani’s show was enjoyed by many as it revealed how Khuzani has grown as an artist and upgraded his brand and lifestyle, he took to his Facebook page to vent about behind the scene fights with producers.
Khuzani accused Legend Manqele, CEO of Bar Leader TV which recorded and owns Khuzani’s reality show, of threatening him when asked for his money. Khuzani revealed that Manqele owed him R300 000 - he has since paid R50 000 after he opened up on Facebook.
Manqele had initially released a statement where he stated that they had paid Khuzani for the reality show but conceded there was an outstanding amount due to him.
“Yes, according to our agreement there is money owed to him that we have not been able to pay due to some difficulties.
“We had some disagreements about the show and we have decided not to continue with season 2 because he wants things to be done according to his terms,” said Manqele.
He also alleged that Khuzani misled the nation about his life saying some of the things they televised were staged and not reality. “The reality show is about life, not stage. But we found that difficult with Khuzani as he instructed us to tell lies about his lobola negotiations, wedding relationship and family affairs.
“This was against the values of the company and resulted in the poor ratings of the show,” he said. However, Khuzani dismissed the allegation saying Manqele looked for “dramatic” scenes where there were none.
He said the show was owned by Manqele and Ayanda Melansi - co-producer who detected what the show was to contain and arranged with the family. “He is now saying the reality TV was fake because I asked for my money, he wants to tarnish my name.
“They were hell-bent on the show for their gain, and I would love to see the evidence of their claims. Melansi went as far as asking who were my enemies among my family so that the show can contain drama and violence to improve the ratings. She told me that SABC likes violence to attract viewers.
“They wanted me to reveal shocking details which were against what people knew me for. She further asked if I had impregnated someone so she could be featured on the show.
“They forced me to meet with my babies’ mothers to cause drama which I refused, it was against my morals hence they say I was not complying,” he wrote. Khuzani also revealed some of his great achievements were deliberately omitted from the show because the intention was to create drama for the benefit of the show owners.
Melansi confirmed that she was part of the show but referred the Sunday Tribune to the statement released by the company. Khuzani also accused Manqele of threatening him with releasing his “dirty secret” ; Khuzani pleaded with Manqele to pay him the outstanding R250 000.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE