KFC denies Romeo Malepe’s accusations of stealing his kota idea

Promoter and Creative Director Romeo Malepe, popularly referred to as Mkhulu Romeo, has accused KFC South Africa of stealing his kota idea. This is after the fast-food restaurant introduced Kentucky Sphatlho to its limited edition of the Kentucky Town Pitori menu.

Romeo took to his Facebook page on Tuesday and claimed that the idea belonged to him and Sharpville Food Festival. He said he pitched the idea to KFC’s brand manager in Bryanston back in 2019.

“They are now doing it without us in 2023, copying our idea and our creation. Everyone knows this. You were there when this concept trended,” he added.

He also unearthed his 2021 Facebook post, where he showed off the presentation that he had put together for KFC.

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Legal route

The celebrity sangoma told Sunday World that he is planning to take the legal route regarding this matter. He also revealed that after meeting with the KFC brand manager in 2019, he was supposed to meet with the company’s “big boss”, but that did not happen. 

“In the presentation, we had designed sneakers as well as other items we had pitched that should be sold during activations,

“I posted on Facebook after seeing that the meeting is not happening. It trended, and then it got to KFC. They sent me a letter and told me to delete the posts otherwise, they would sue me. I deleted them. “

Romeo told the publication that he was surprised to see KFC advertising his idea, and he wished they had contacted him before going ahead with it.

“I was shocked that they were suing me then, but now they are advertising our idea … I feel like this is unnecessary. We could have just collaborated.

“What they are doing is not okay at all. They should have called and said you remember that kota presentation? Can we collaborate? What is so difficult about that?” he said, as quoted by the paper.

KFC responds to allegations

The Citizen reached out to KFC South Africa on Wednesday morning to ask whether there’s any truth to the allegations made by Malepe. They told us that the product was not a result of Malepe’s presentation.

“While we love South Africa’s passion for KFC, we can confirm that this product was not as a result of a concept presented to us by Romeo. For more than 50 years, KFC has been inspired by the South African heritage and culture and has regularly brought innovation like the Streetwise Chow, Masala Crunch and Mrs Ball’s Chutney burger to our menu.

“It is no secret that the Sphatlho is a well-known South African meal and the limited edition Sphatlho is a result of an extensive product development process – aimed to be a KFC take on this South African classic,” the fast-food chain said.

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