TK Nciza's legal team demands an apology and the retraction of statements Bandile Magibili made in relation to Zahara's death.
Former TS Records co-owner and now politician Thembinkosi “TK” Nciza has sent a legal cease and desist letter to Bandile Magibili after he was accused of being responsible for Zahara’s death.
“Well, he [Magibili] has accused TK of being the cause of Zahara’s death, this would be very much damaging for any person’s reputation, not just TK, moreover where such are not substantiated by any detailed autopsy or similar report,” Dumisani Motsamai of Morolong Inc, who represents TK, told The Citizen.
TK confirmed to The Citizen that Morolong Inc is representing him.
ALSO READ: ‘Why must I speak about Zahara when she’s gone’ – TK Nciza on leaked audio of late singer
‘I discovered her talent’
Speaking on Podcast and Chill with MacG last week, Magibili said that Zahara’s former record label boss was the cause of her death early last year.
Magibili, who is a writer, also describes himself as a talent development strategist. “I discovered her talent through my platforms,” Magibili told The Citizen.
Magibili hosts music and poetry sessions in Buffalo City, where Zahara performed numerous times before being discovered by TK. Magibili doesn’t host the shows as he frequently did in the past, but he still hosts artists.
Bulelwa “Zahara” Mkutukana died on a Monday night in mid-December 2023.
Soon after her passing, DJ Sbu and TK were immediately dragged by the public, accusing the two former TS Records bosses – the company under which Zahara was signed until 2016 – of taking advantage of her by underpaying the singer.
ALSO READ: Zahara’s former bosses DJ Sbu and TK Nciza dragged after singer’s passing
Magibili’s demands
In the letter sent on Sunday, Mostamai described Magibili’s words as “defamatory, unsubstantiated and baseless”.
“Client has accordingly instructed us to demand from yourself, as we hereby do, that you issue a public retraction and an apology in respect of these remarks/utterances, within 24 hours of receipt of this letter,” reads the letter.
Magibili confirmed that he received the letter. However, in an email responding to TK’s legal team, which The Citizen has seen, Magibili requested to be furnished with a copy of Morolong Inc’s practising certificate, a recent Fidelity Fund certificate and a copy of the attorney’s right of appearance.
The writer also requested a copy of the power of attorney or an instruction letter authorising the attorney to act on behalf of TK and the specific legal provision or instrument relied upon to conclude that the interview with Podcast and Chill with MACG was defamatory, including the basis for determining his intentions.
“There’s nothing I’ve said that warrants an apology – at least from where I’m standing and from how I understand it,” Magibili told The Citizen.
“Thus, I’m interested to know the instrument relied upon to determine that my interview on Podcast and Chill was defamatory.”
Mostamai confirmed that Magibili hadn’t met their demands. “We will most definitely issue summons for defamation, this week still, those are our instructions,” he said.
Speaking with no sense of panic, Magibili said “Let them issue them. [I’m] waiting patiently,” he said.
“They can brief their ANC comrade Judges / Magistrates and prosecutors in the interim to stage a case… I’ve been there before with comrades who bypass legal procedures… I am more than ready for them. I presume the truth shall surface of how politicians stage cases.”
ALSO READ: ‘You healed our souls’ – SA mourns the death of musician Zahara
The leaked recording
In early 2024, about a month after Zahara’s death, an audio of the multiple-award-winning singer-songwriter was leaked.
In it, Zahara can be heard conversing with an unknown male voice, who advises the Loliwe singer, telling her that she needs to be strong to survive in 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.
Speaking to The Citizen at the time, TK described the leaked audio 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,” TK told The Citizen at the time.
TK also confirmed that he and Zahara were on talking terms before her passing. “We were okay, we were talking,” he said.
