Artists are celebrating a small victory following the departure of two SAMRO Board members, Veronica Motloutsi and Dr Sibongile Vilakazi. SAMRO announced the changes on Friday.
In an official statement, the board said: “The Board of Directors of SAMRO wishes to update members on recent governance matters. Following a duly convened board meeting held on 11 September 2025, the composition of the board changed. Ms Veronica Motloutsi and Dr Sibongile Vilakazi are no longer serving as non-executive directors of the SAMRO Board. The Board expresses its appreciation to Ms Motloutsi and Dr Vilakazi for their contributions during their tenure and remains committed to ensuring that SAMRO continues to deliver on its mandate and strategic priorities in the best interest of its members and stakeholders.”
SAMRO Board Chairperson Nicholas Maweni also extended his gratitude: “On behalf of the Board of Directors, I wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to our outgoing board members for their service and dedication.”
Under a cloud
However, Vilakazi, former Chairperson of SAMRO’s Social, Ethics, and Governance Committee and a former Black Management Forum (BMF) member, leaves under a cloud.
On August 11, Sunday World reported that she allegedly used SAMRO funds generated from members’ royalties to finance the launch of her book, Put Her in Her Place.
The private event, held on December 2, 2024 reportedly had no connection to SAMRO’s mandate, though it featured music performances allegedly paid for by the organisation. Vilakazi herself appeared to confirm SAMRO’s involvement in an Instagram post, writing: “Shout out to @samromusic for supporting the music item for the #PutHerInHerPlace #BookLaunch.”
Insiders told Sunday World that suspended Chief Operating Officer Mpho Mofikoe discovered the questionable expenditure and lodged a formal complaint demanding a board investigation. Sources claim the board refused to act and instead suspended Mofikoe on August 4 allegedly to conceal further internal wrongdoing.
Artists and activists are calling for more accountability. Nomsa Mazwai said:”We’re happy, but not entirely. We need all these independent non-executive directors to go. We still need Vilakazi to pay back the money she used for her book launch.”
Tshepo Mashiane added: “We welcome this decision; however, we don’t believe they resigned voluntarily. We feel they were removed by other board members. Nonetheless, this vindicates us, the main shareholders. Our fight is starting to bear fruit, and it proves we’ve always been right when we said the independent non-executive directors must go. Now we are waiting for the remaining independent non-executives to either resign or be pushed out as well.”
