Saxophonist Bongane Radebe, also referred to as Bongane Sax, has been accused of non-payment for a 2020 wedding that never happened.
Radebe is facing financial difficulties once more, as Sammy Ngema is claiming that he failed to pay for a wedding performance.
According to Ngema, who spoke with Sunday World, the announcement of the Covid-19 lockdown caused her wedding to be cancelled eight days beforehand.
“The money that I had paid him was only for the performance; I was going to cover accommodation and transport from Johannesburg to Durban,” Ngema said.
“So because of the uncertainty at the time, I had not finalised the money for the accommodation and flights.”
Paid in full for the performance
According to Ngema, Radebe was paid R41 000 in full for the sound and a wedding performance. When the lockdown was announced, she had to postpone her wedding, which was later cancelled.
Ngema explained: “After cancelling the wedding in May 2021, I spoke to him, and he said he understood and would refund me the money.
“Every time I would follow up, he kept telling me that he had a big event with a big sponsor and would pay me back my money.
“The whole of 2021 and 2022, he kept making up stories. I even suggested that I would find someone who would be getting married or having an event and would refer them to him so he could refund me.”
Ngema eventually came to the realisation that her plan was failing, and that she would have to work in order to get back her money.
When she finally made the decision to take legal action in the middle of 2022, Bongane acknowledged his debt and stated he would be happy to cooperate after receiving the letter of demand.
Payment arrangement breached
“Last year, I was so frustrated and got tired of the stories he kept telling me. He then said he would make a payment of R7 000 for four months and R6 000 for the remaining months,” she said.
“However, he only paid me in September and October; after that, he went silent.
Ngema realised that sending summonses would be a waste of time after reading another article about a couple who had complained about Radebe and how he had purposefully sent them the wrong address.
“After disappearing in November, I had to follow up, and he told me his car broke down. He promised to make the payment for November and December all together.
“In January, I was frustrated and went on to his social media and told him that he needed to pay back the money he owed me.”
Upon speaking with Ngema, Radebe’s social media manager disclosed that he was unaware of her circumstances.
He then pledged to resolve the issue, but as January 15th approached, she had still not received her money.
No proof of payment
“On the 15th of January, he sent me a disappearing message on WhatsApp between him and Samro [the Southern African Music Rights Organisation], which basically indicated that I was not going to receive the money on that day.
“The message that he sent looked doctored, and I don’t understand why they only sent it on the day I was supposed to receive the payment.”
Ngema claims she has not received any proof of payment, despite Radebe’s social media manager promising to send it a few days ago.
Sunday World was unable to obtain a response from Radebe when we attempted to contact him through his team for a comment.
