The taxman has derailed media personality Somizi Mhlongo from living his dream when it auctioned off his luxury furniture in Joburg last week.
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has also ordered television producer Legend Manqele, who produced his reality show, Living the Dream with Somizi, to pay R1.5-million of his and ex-husband Mohale’s royalties into a SARS account and not into their lawyer’s account after they had instructed him to do so earlier this month.
In a notice of sale in execution, which we have seen, Sandton North sheriff Kgomotso Mphahlele said she had put Somizi’s furniture under the hammer to recoup the funds he owed for failing pay at least R3.5-million in tax debt he owed since 2014.
The goods, according to the notice, were sold following a judgment obtained by SARS in the Johannesburg High Court on November 5 2015.
“In pursuance of a high court judgment … on November 5 2015, for Somizi Mhlongo and a warrant of execution issued against movable property pursuant thereto, the movable property listed below will be sold in execution on May 18 2022 at 11am at 24 Rhodes Avenue Kensington B, Randburg 2125 to the highest bidder,” reads the notice.
The items auctioned off included “a Samsung washing machine, a white sculpture (Guman Head), Le Creuset bowl, three plastic bar chairs, two red human statues, a Hisense television set with a remote, a Smeg dishwasher, two brass painted coffee tables, one Carrol
Boyes knife set with stand, a Carrol Boyes bowl, five various Le Creuset pots, a Gold Air gas heater, a DeLonghi oil heater, a Samsung fridge, a silver kitchen bowl, three glass vases, eight cushions, a sleeper couch, a wooden TV stand with drawers, dining chairs and a table and knife set with stand,” reads the notice.
Somizi and Mohale walked down the aisle in 2020 but separated last year after accusations and counter accusations of physical abuse.
Before their wedding, the two sold their broadcasting rights to Bar Leader TV, owned by Manqele, to flight the event on DStv’s Mzansi Magic channel.
Mohale’s lawyer Vanessa Da Silva Faria Fernihough, of Ulrich Roux and Associates, wrote a letter of demand to Manqele to pay the money into their trust account or face a lawsuit after he allegedly dilly-dallied in doing so.
In the letter, which we have seen, the lawyers said Mhlongo and Mohale, who were represented by their company, Elahom Events, signed an agreement with Manqele’s company to film and broadcast their wedding for a R1.5-million fee.
The lawyer said they wrote a letter to Manqele in July last year, pleading with him to pay their clients, but he informed them that he was waiting for some documents from SARS and documentation from his team before he could respond to their letter.
Manqele said he received instruction from SARS not to pay Somizi.
Sunday World can reveal that after reading our story about the dispute between Manqele and the ex-couple, SARS wrote a letter to Manqele on May 12 and ordered him to pay the money into its account.
SARS asked Manqele to send proof of payment if he had paid the money.
Manqele confirmed that he had received a letter from SARS ordering him to pay the money into its coffers and said he remitted payment into the tax collector’s account as instructed.
Attempts to solicit comments from Mphahlele drew a blank as her cellphone rang unanswered.
Somizi ignored our phone calls and text messages.
Mohale refused to comment.
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