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‘Why must I speak about Zahara when she’s gone’ – TK Nciza on leaked audio of late singer
Zahara died in 2023 but her fraught relationship with her former record label still makes headlines.
Zahara’s former boss TK Nciza has commented on a recently leaked audio of the late singer. Picture: tknciza_sa/ Instagram
Zahara’s former boss Thembinkosi “TK” Nciza has described a recently leaked audio of Zahara on a telephone complaining about him and DJ Sbu as malicious, since the singer is deceased.
“I mean really, this is none of my concern. That chapter is closed for me, I can’t respond to a faceless person. I don’t want to worry about something I don’t know, it’s a malicious thing,” Nciza told The Citizen.
In the audio, Zahara can be heard conversing with an unknown man who advises the award winning singer telling her she needs to be strong to survive the entertainment industry.
“They are being eaten inside by their guilty conscience, can’t you see DJ Sbu is hugging trees,” the singer is heard saying in the recording. To which the unidentified male voice responds “DJ Sbu used to rob you, ne?”
“Too much, he’s still robbing me,” Zahara responds.
Bulelwa ‘Zahara’ Mkutukana died on a Monday night in mid-December and DJ Sbu and Nciza were immediately dragged by the public, accusing the two former TS Records bosses – the company Zahara was signed under until 2016 – of taking advantage of her by underpaying the singer.
But responding to the leaked recoding, Nciza said the unidentified voice on the other line recorded the phone call without Zahara’s consent.
“Why must I entertain things brought by a faceless person. You can tell she didn’t know she was being recorded… when was this recorded and why are they choosing to release it now?” asked Nciza.
ALSO READ: ‘I’m heartbroken like everyone else’- DJ Sbu on Zahara’s death
Silly season
“In 2014 when Zahara was alive, I answered everything one by one, why must I speak about Zahara when she’s gone. But I’ve been in the game [industry] for a long time now and I understand that these things are happening because it’s silly season,” he said.
Nciza is the ANC’s Gauteng Provincial Secretary and when The Citizen asked if the audio was released because of his political links, he said: “Generally people want to tear each other down, negative news flies quicker than anything. It’s the silly season and people want to tarnish each other’s images.”
Nciza confirmed he and Zahara were on talking terms before her passing. “We were okay, we were talking,” said the politician.
In 2019 Zahara publicly claimed that her former record label owed her money.
“I want my money back, all of it. Many artists suffer in silence, suffer depression and ultimately die paupers. I won’t be a statistic. I will speak out,” she said at the time.
After Zahara’s passing DJ Sbu said he saw the Loliwe singer as a younger sister.
“We had great work together, we had great moments. I was like a bigger brother to her; she was like my younger sister. I also do know, despite what is out there in the public, people might be mad, might want somebody to blame,” said DJ Sbu.
“For now, a lot of people are saying I’m to blame and they are blaming me, even though I am not. But having worked in the public eye for so long, I understand how we are as people and as South Africans, especially when we love our own.”
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