The company that let a vessel to media personality Dineo Ranaka to ferry various celebrities to Portuguese islands last year, wants her to appear in court for disappearing with its cash.
MSC Cruises SA, Incorporate in Geneva, Switzerland has applied for “provincial sentence summons” for Ranaka and a Gauteng-based businessman Denzel Govender and his company Smilz to appear in the Joburg high court for failing to pay it over R3.4 -million.
This is an outstanding amount of the more than R 7.5-million it charged the dismissed Kaya FM presenter and the entity for the trip, which was criticised by many celebrities as the worst cruise experience of their lives.
Smilz is the first defendant, while Govender and Ranaka are the second and third defendants respectively.
In the court papers, which we have seen, MSC said on or about September 5 2022, Smilz and Ranaka signed a charted party agreement in which they agreed to hire a vessel, the MSC Orchestra for over R7.5-million last year.
MSC said it agreed to let the vessel to Smilz and Ranaka who promised to pay the staggering amount in two equal instalments on December 15 and 22 last year before the infamous cruise, which took place in February this year.
The company said Ranaka and Smilz agreed that in the event they failed to pay or neglected to pay the amount due and payable on any of the due dates, any balance thereof would immediately become due and recoverable.
MSC said Smilz and Ranaka failed to make payment of the total amount as per the agreement. The company said Ranaka and Smilz signed a written acknowledgement of debt in which they jointly and severally acknowledged their indebtedness to it.
The company said Ranaka and Smilz remitted 19 payments totalling over R4.1-million on December 2 last year and May 2 this year.
The company said the outstanding amount of over R3.4-million has hitherto not been paid by Ranaka and Smilz despite repeated request for them to do so.
MSC said as result of Ranaka and Smilz’s failure to pay the debt, businessman Govender signed a deed of surety in which he bound himself jointly and as surety and co-principal debtor in favour of duo.
Despite Govender binding himself, said MSC, the debt was not paid. MSC wants them to appear in court in person or through their lawyers if they fail to pay the debt.
