A bitter battle involving DJ Sumbody’s family, his business partners and a top traffic cop has broken out over the artist’s popular nightclub, Ayepyep Lifestyle in Pretoria.
Sunday World can exclusively reveal that Sumbody’s family and business associates have accused the top cop, Donald Phasha, of hijacking the trendy waterhole, which has been rebranded Top Notch Lifestyle, and leaving the family of the slain musician and his associates out in the cold.
So serious is the squabble that DJ Sumbody’s family and his partners are pushing for the popular drinking hole to be sold so they can recoup the capital they invested in the club.
According to information received, Phasha, is being accused of hijacking the popular club in Sunnyside, central Pretoria, and running it as if he is the sole owner.
Law enforcement authorities became aware of this information during the criminal investigations in the 2022 killing of DJ Sumbody, whose real name is Oupa Sefoka. The entrepreneur and musician was shot alongside his two bodyguards, Sibusiso Mokoena and Sanele Myeza.
Sunday World understands that since April 2024, Sefoka’s family, which holds a 25% stake in the business under his younger sister, Chantel, protested after Phasha failed to give them a cent from the revenue generated by the lucrative lounge.
Previously, the directors received salaries ranging from R10 000 to R15 000 per month, according to sources. With Sefoka’s family locked out since April, they’ve lost at least R150 000, and counting.
“But beyond that, it looks like Sefoka wanted his sibling, who is a chef by profession, to build a future around this investment because she is passionate about her work,” a source said.
“He held the belief that this opportunity would pave the way for her to achieve greater success in life, and he was determined to provide her with an opportunity to excel.”
According to records, the club was officially registered as Top Notch in November 2020. On November 2, 2022, three weeks before Sefoka was gunned down. Phasha’s daughter Tshegofatso (23) was added as a partner sitting on the board with a 25% share, allegedly as a front for her dad. But on December 2, 2024, Phasha replaced his daughter as a director. Tshegofatso resigned on October 19, 2023.
The remaining shares are equally held by Sefoka’s business associates, a marketing specialist and an operations manager- – who could not be reached for comment.
Sources in the security cluster attributed the fallout to a flashy event in January 2024, featuring a big-name female DJ from Phasha’s hometown in Limpopo. The partners were expected to splash out extra cash to pull it off, but after a rough December some were broke.
Phasha, who also got shot in 2022 and recovered was apparently upset. He allegedly started to cause chaos by removing his daughter from the official company paperwork without notice, opening a new bank account under her name but under a slightly different business alias – Top Notch Events – and even yanking the speedpoints from the venue.
The accusations did not stop there. Phasha allegedly sabotaged supplier relationships with the club, confiscated inventory that was paid for by other shareholders, and took over the day-to-day running of the club, excluding everyone else from decisions. According to sources, the partners are now in tense negotiations to sell the business and dissolve the partnership altogether.
Phasha, who speaks very fondly about Sefoka after years of working together, stated that he only brought in his own speedpoint machines to ensure he could recover his “hefty” financial contribution towards saving the business, as he previously had no control over the bank accounts.
He said that as a law enforcement officer, his participation in the venture was only limited to shareholding and not operational, and that is why he initially delegated his daughter, who was then a student, to represent his interests. But because the business’s debt was accumulating, he had his daughter resign because she was too young to carry the financial burden, possibly affecting her credit profile even before she entered the job market.
Phasha said that in January last year, he had to sacrifice personal plans to keep the business afloat, and money was still owed to him. He said that for some five months he took a backseat and became a silent partner until May when the shop failed to open on a busy Monday night because of financial constraints.
That was when he stepped in to rescue the situation and brought his own speedpoints.
Phasha said his position had always been that he wanted to step back, “but if it collapses, I’m going to intervene”.
“I will never let that business go down,” Phasha added, saying that this was due to his loyalty to Sefoka.
He said he was open to the idea of selling the business to recover the funds invested by all parties and settle all debts.
Family spokesperson Chad Thomas said, “There isn’t a feud. It is the considered opinion of the family that the person that used to supply security for Top Notch is in essence trying to hijack the business. This forms part of another issue that is currently being investigated, and a decision will be made on the way forward.”
Thomas said the family initiated an investigation regarding the benefits previously received from the business, “and a decision will be made on the way forward following the outcome of the investigation.”
