When Artists United (AU) was formed by a collective of artists, its mission was to hold the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (Samro) accountable when it comes to governance and issues faced by its members.
The organisation gained traction on its quest to question the Samro top brass on transparency and accountability, where matters of alleged corruption of R60-million had also come to the fore.
Infighting
However, what started as a unity among artists had degenerated into chaos when two popular faces and leaders of AU clashed over the cases opened by them at the South African Police Service against Samro bosses.
Former SABC soccer commentator and businessman Owen Ndlovu, who claims to be the brains behind the formation of AU, and former musician Tebogo Sithathu of Twins fame, who also claimed to be a co-founder of AU, are at loggerheads and fighting.
Ndlovu and Sithathu used to be bosom buddies speaking in one voice at media interviews on TV, radio and newspapers. However, their friendship has since broken down as they now often fight like cat and mouse, reminiscent of the Tom and Jerry animated series.
Pressure to drop case against CEO
Ndlovu said that all hell broke loose when he received a message from Sithathu, where the former stated that the latter had sent him a message telling him that he was requested to drop criminal charges against Samro CEO Annabell Lebethe, which had been opened at Hillbrow police station.
In the message sent to Ndovu by Sithathu last week, the Shona Phansi hit maker told the former SABC sports commentator that he was requested by the well-known former Electoral Commission of SA deputy chairperson Terry Tselane to withdraw charges against Lebethe.
Sithathu also said in his message to Ndlovu that Tselane was also going to ask the owner of One Rights Management to also drop all the criminal charges he had opened against Samro and Lebethe.
Push for peace
When asked by Sunday World on why he had chosen that route to go and drop the charges against Lebethe, Sithathu said that he was advised so by Tselane, with the aim of brokering peace between Samro and AU, and that the intention was to resolve whatever impasse that both parties had against each other.
Spat between Sithathu and Ndlovu
Sithathu also said that he felt that the drama between AU and Samro was no longer about fighting for the rights of the artists and accused Ndlovu of hijacking the movement to fight his own personal fights at the stake of other AU members.
“That AU is nothing but a personal project of Owen and his wife, Portia. They both take decisions on behalf of the artists in their bedroom and come here to tell us what should be done. I have come to realise that we are just being used as faces of AU that is controlled in the bedroom during the pillow talk by Owen and Portia, and as that stands, I can’t subject myself to that. I am a co-founder of AU but Owen and his wife hijacked it from all the members, and they are using it as their fiefdom. I hade decided to distance myself from that thing as it serves no purpose but used as a driven agenda by Owen and Portia to settle their scores with Samro and anyone who is not dancing to their tune,” said Sithathu.
He added that Ndlovu was the one calling shots at the organisation and also said that the businessman also went behind their backs to register the organisation as his own without informing them.
“You can ask all the people who were part of the leadership of AU if they know how Owen operates. They will tell you that he is a dictator and someone who doesn’t listen to anyone’s contribution. He is the problem that guy,” said Sithathu.
However Ndlovu hit back at Sithathu and said that he was bitter and disgruntled person.
“Tebogo is a sore loser and he doesn’t want to admit that. Firstly, he sent me a message telling me that Bro Terry had requested us to drop the charges against SAMRO and Annabell, and I didn’t understand why that had to happen. When I tell him about the role that AU is playing in dealing with the challenges faced by the artists, he insisted that I should also drop the charges, however I told him to go fly a kite as I was not going to do that. Another thing that I will tell you is that he is lying when he said that he started AU with me. All the people that you see here, I personally recruited them, including him. I went to his house in Buccleuch to recruit him, and he knows that for the fact. He mustn’t come to you and lie that he started this movement,” said Ndlovu.
He also said that he expelled Sithathu and others from AU as he had seen that their intentions were not aimed at pushing for the mandate of AU.
“Let me tell you something. AU is aligned to MK Party and EFF, but what I can tell you is that someone who was a leader here, also tried to launch himself using our organisation, while wearing ActionSA T-shirt with his people. We are not going to allow anarchists here using AU to push their nefarious agendas. If they think that we can allow them to use AU to push their agendas, they must think twice and go start their own thing away from us. We are not here to nurse the feelings of the people who fail to understand the purpose of AU. I am not going to be told by Tebogo and his people to betray the struggle of the artists and go close criminal cases. That will never happen,” said Ndlovu.
‘Owen is running wild’ – Tselane
When asked about the matter of his involvement in the debacle of Ndlovu and Sithathu, Tselane said that he was not going to entertain that nonsense.
“Owen is running wild, and I suspect that there is a loose screw in his head. He came to me and wanted me to help him with the issues he has against Samro, and I told him that I had nothing to do with that as I am not a board member of Samro. After I said that he lost his marbles and said that he was going to take me to Madlanga commission and created stories in his head about me.
“As for Tebogo, he spoke to me about his case that he had opened against Annabell, and I told him that he was not going to win that case and I pointed out to him that he should focus on constructive things than petty fights. In fact, I am not going to fight the battles of those people against Samro. They must not involve me in their fights,” said Tselane.
- Artists United (AU) was formed to hold the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (Samro) accountable, amid allegations of R60-million corruption and governance issues.
- Internal conflict erupted between AU leaders Owen Ndlovu and Tebogo Sithathu over criminal charges they filed against Samro CEO Annabell Lebethe, causing division within the group.
- Sithathu claimed he was pressured by former Electoral Commission deputy Terry Tselane to drop charges for the sake of peace, accusing Ndlovu of hijacking AU for personal agendas.
- Ndlovu denied Sithathu’s claims, accused him of being disgruntled, and expelled him from AU, emphasizing the movement’s alignment with political groups like MK Party and EFF.
- Terry Tselane distanced himself from the conflict, criticizing Ndlovu’s behavior and urging both parties to focus on constructive efforts rather than internal fights with Samro.
