The South African Music Rights Organisation’s (Samro) embattled leadership has described an incident in which the organisation’s members stormed and collapsed a media briefing as regrettable.
The drama erupted while Samro leadership, including CEO Annabell Lebethe, chairperson Nicholas Maweni, Marianne Fourie, company secretary, and Sisa Mayekiso, the deputy chairperson, were still addressing the media.
This incident resulted in the media briefing collapsing and Samro board members resorting to conducting one-on-one interviews with journalists on the sidelines at Garden Court Hotel in Milpark in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Speaking to Sunday World after the event had degenerated into chaos, Maweni said that it was regrettable that the presser ended on such a bad note.
Maweni added that the briefing was meant to set the record straight on the recent extraordinary general meeting (EGM).
“We were here to address the media on what the developments are regarding our EGM. The votes which were cast to rescind or remove three board members were audited by an auditing firm,” said Maweni.
Gatecrashers
Vocal Samro members such as Owen Ndlovu, Tebogo Sethathu, Mercy Phakela, and William Mthethwa, among others, forced their way into the conference room after they were not allowed to have access to the press conference.
This came after they caught wind that Maweni had said that more than 82% of members had voted on 29 August to rescind the suspension of three board members, who were yanked off their positions on 10 July.
This statement, by Maweni, made members who were waiting outside the press conference force their way into the conference room and disrupt the proceedings.
The security detail at the hotel failed to deal with the disruptive members, as they were overpowered and shoved around.
Lebethe said that the police investigating corruption allegations against the board and executives cautioned them not to release the forensic report to Samro members.
“When the time is right, we will release the report as per advice from the police who cautioned us,” said Lebethe.
Clean as a whistle
Asked if they were involved in graft, Lebethe and Maweni told Sunday World that they were not corrupt.
“It is not the organisation’s strategy to [ignore] corruption. Right now, there is a case being investigated, and we are waiting for the investigations to be completed,” said Lebethe.
She refused to respond to questions on the suspension of COO Mpho Mofikoe.
Lebethe, Maweni and other Samro board members were left stunned when they were accused of organising the press conference to lie to the media.
“You are here to lie to the media, and you know for a fact that you are liars. This press conference is finished, and it is not going to continue. We have been lied to for too long, and we are not going to take your nonsense any further,” said Sithathu.
Ndlovu said that it was disingenuous for Lebethe and her cabal to host a media briefing without Samro members.
“You are still being defiant and pushing your own propaganda in the name of representing us as members, but you know that you are pushing your agenda. This press conference is not going to happen. We are not your kids who you deceive with candy. We are not going to allow you to lie to the nation,” said Ndlovu.
Untouchables
Phakela also stated that the board and Lebethe were a law unto themselves and that they, as members of Samro, will never be subjected to capture and draconian leadership.
The conference never took place thereafter.
One Samro official told Sunday World that the decision for the board to host a press conference was a bad one.
“Whoever said that there should be a press conference set the executive and the board up with the aim of throwing them under the bus, and that happened. The presser was a recipe for disaster.”
