A bitter tussle between media personality Bonang Matheba and her former manager, Davin Phillips, appears to be heading to court. Phillips’ lawyer, Werkmans Attorneys, have sent Matheba a letter of demand instructing her to retract defamatory statements she made against him.
Acting on Phillips’ instruction, the law firm sent the letter to Bonang on Thursday instructing her to retract and unconditionally apologise.
They also demanded that she makes an undertaking by no later than 2pm on Friday to refrain from making and publishing further slanderous remarks against him.
In the letter, the law firm said Bonang took to Twitter on Thursday and published a defamatory post against Phillips when she said she couldn’t wait to tell the public about him, and referred to him as a “monster”.
“Can’t wait to tell you guys about this monster @DavinPhillips. On Your Neck@DavinPhillips,” reads the post.
The lawyers said the statement was later deleted by unknown party but Bonang later republished it.
“The first statement was deleted. Our client is unsure whether you deleted the first statement or whether it was deleted by Twitter,” reads the letter.
They said Bonang’s statements were wrongful and defamatory to Phillips and charged that she made them with the intention to defame him and injure his reputation. “Your conduct as aforesaid is unlawful. In the circumstances, we are instructed to demand, that you provide a written undertaking to be received by our office by no later than 2pm on Friday 20 May 2022, that you will immediately desist from publishing further defamatory and threatening statements of and concerning our client. In addition to the aforesaid, we are instructed to demand as we hereby do that you immediately publish on Twitter an unconditional and unequivocal apology in regard to the statements that you have published of and concerning our client,” according to lawyers.
They threatened to take further steps if she refused to comply.
The war between the two started when Bonang left Phillips’s company, CSA, after accusing Phillips of trying to steal her company House of BNG and of making off with $52, 000 from iHeart Radio where she worked.
“And now you are trying to steal my company but seem to be failing. A heist gone wrong! You are audacious, how dare you! House of BNG was facilitated and finalised by Jay Badza and Sylvester Chauke long before you arrived. But no you think you can be snakey and attempt a heist!! Davin Philips you are comical.”
Phillips issued a statement accusing her of distorting the truth and breaching contracts of several clients. “To be clear, Ms Matheba joined CSA in 2017 and the House of BNG was launched in 2019. Ms Matheba is in breach of multiple contracts with various clients. The matter is with our lawyers and her breaches of contract will be decided upon by an arbitrator.
“As mentioned previously, Ms Matheba is in fact the only individual who has made millions of rand of profit out of The House of BNG, while CSA is still at a loss and in the red after having invested millions to make it a success.
“Not only has CSA invested in this venture but we have been instrumental in developing and creating the brand, from the actual naming convention to the route to market, packaging, innovation (MCC, Prestige and coming up with the concept of BNG Nectar – the sparkling wine in a can), the distribution strategy (in which we secured listings in key retailers), creation of the brand CI and the securing of all event
partnerships.”
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