Grammy winner Nomcebo Zikode owes R1.5-million to Open Mic Productions for legal costs the record label incurred following her legal action.
Zikode lost her lawsuit, and the court ordered her to deliver two albums to Open Mic before being released from her contract.
This is contained in a ruling rendered by the Pretoria High Court on Friday, following a legal dispute between Zikode and Open Mic that dates back to 2022.
The court made clear that the main point of contention was who owned the popular song Jerusalema, specifically whether Zikode and Kgaogelo “Master KG” Moagi co-composed it or Moagi alone.
“The applicants [Zikode and Emazulwini Production] are to jointly and severally pay the costs of this application, the one paying absolving the other. These costs include the fees for employing two counsel,” reads the judgment.
Improper legal procedure
The court added that Zikode’s lawyer’s lack of ethical behaviour and her use of an improper legal procedure prevented her from winning the case.
Consequently, the court transcript and judgment have been forwarded to the Legal Practice Council for review.
Lionel Jamela, an executive at Open Mic Productions, said: “Nomcebo owes us about R1.5-million in legal fees, and we want all that money back.
“Had she won the case, she’d also be celebrating and demanding her legal fees from us. Unfortunately, it’s the risk she took.
“Nomcebo is our product, and we can never destroy what we built. Unfortunately, she’s playing the victim and trying to destroy the very same label that made her.”
On Sunday, Zikode took to Facebook to criticise the court for issuing a “fundamentally flawed and deeply troubling judgment”, citing that she is considering an appeal.
Open Mic warns Zikode not to appeal
Jamela responded: “If she wants an appeal, we’re more than ready for it. She must bring it on. She’s within her rights.
“But we want to warn her that she might incur more legal costs from our side, and we wouldn’t want that.
“We still have hope; we believe this can be resolved without dragging each other to court. We’re human, after all.
“We begged her not to take this route, but she believed she had a strong case. We even said that if she was going to sue us, she should do it properly and bring Africori on board, but she refused. Now she’s lost, and she must pay our bill.”
On Saturday, Sunday World reported how Zikode lost the case against Open Mic Productions.
The court stated in its ruling that Zikode did not request a ruling on the ownership of the song Jerusalema, even though that was the core of the dispute.
She requested instead that the court order Open Mic to fulfill its accounting duties.
The ruling stated that Open Mic had fulfilled its responsibilities, but Zikode wanted to avoid her responsibilities. The court rejected her request, saying she must obey the ruling.
Appeal not likely to succeed
Advocate Bonga Zulu commented: “The judgment clearly shows that she was badly advised from the beginning.
“Her lawyers should have foreseen a dispute of facts and pursued action proceedings rather than motion proceedings.
“Once the court identifies a factual dispute, the judge may either dismiss the case or refer it for oral evidence.”
Zulu continued: “When Zikode’s lawyer realised there was a problem, he should have asked for an adjournment sine die [a postponement with no specific date set for resumption] or requested that the judge refer the matter to oral evidence on that specific issue.
“She can appeal, but the prospects of success are almost zero; that is, if she’ll be allowed to appeal at all because an appeal is not guaranteed.
“As for the court order, she cannot run away from it. The law is clear; it says a judgment must be obeyed until it is satisfied. This means she has no option but to fulfill her obligations as per the agreement.”
