Grammy Award-winning musician Nomcebo Zikode has once again faced defeat in her legal battle against Open Mic.
Since 2022, the two parties have engaged in a legal battle, but Zikode lost the case on May 9, 2025.
The Pretoria High Court dismissed her application for leave to appeal on Thursday, thwarting her attempt to appeal the matter.
In the judgment delivered on Thursday, high court Judge Graham Nasious Moshoana ruled that her appeal had no reasonable prospects of success. Zikode was also ordered to cover the legal costs of the application.
The judgment reads in part: “The enquiry will be limited to the question of whether the appeal, if leave is granted, would have a reasonable prospect of success.
“Having perused the application for leave to appeal and the written submissions of the parties and considered all the grounds punted for to impugn the judgment and order, this court is not of an opinion that the appeal for which leave is sought would have reasonable prospects of success.
“The applicants are to jointly but severally pay the costs of this application, the one paying absolving the other, on a scale as between party and party to be settled or taxed at scale B.”
Ownership of hit song Jerusalema
It was highlighted in court that the cause of the dispute was the ownership of the hit song Jerusalema, whether it was co-composed by Zikode and Kgaogelo “Master KG” Moagi or solely by Moagi.
However, the court was not asked to rule on that issue. Instead, Zikode brought the case over the song Bayethe.
The court also cautioned that her application would not have succeeded in any case due to the incorrect legal procedure she followed.
“The applicants [Zikode and Emazulwini Productions] confidently chose motion proceedings over action proceedings.
“Impliedly, the applicants did not anticipate a genuine dispute of fact, and if they did, they probably chose to live with the attendant risk.
“Motion proceedings are mainly concerned with the resolution of legal questions with little to no dispute of facts.
“They are not designed to deal with factual disputes. Zikode alleges that Open Mic has not complied, and on the other hand, Open Mic alleges it has complied.
“This is a genuine dispute of fact. On this basis alone, prayer two is bound to fail,” the court told Zikode two months ago.
Judgment fundamentally flawed
Despite this, Zikode went ahead and applied for leave to appeal. She also accused the court of being unfair, insisting that she will fight for her rights.
“The judgment is, in our respectful view, fundamentally flawed and deeply troubling. Nomcebo’s legal team is currently studying the full judgment, and an appeal is being actively considered.
“While we respect the role of the court, we cannot ignore the bigger picture: this case represents more than a contractual disagreement; it is about the rights of an artist to be acknowledged, compensated, and respected for their work.”
Lionel Jamela from Open Mic has welcomed the court’s decision, saying: “It was obvious from the beginning that she had no case; we warned her. We even told her she’d end up spending more money, but she refused to listen.
“Our door remains open; she just needs to calm down so we can find a solution. But if she wants to keep fighting, that’s her choice; we can’t stop her; it’s her right.”
At the time of publication, Zikode had not issued a response.
