Early last month, the Herald published an article to promote an event hosted by cancer survivors Palesa Mokgosi and Merrygold Moshoaliba, who had teamed up to raise awareness and funds for cancer patients in need.
On Monday, 24 April, only two days after the event, Palesa Mmesi, the MC for the night, wrote a detailed Facebook post about how one-half of the organisers, Palesa Mokgosi, had used the occasion to scam people for her benefit.
According to Mmesi, who had travelled from Welkom, Palesa Mokgosi and Merrygold asked her to MC their event since she was also a cancer survivor. “The day before the event, I asked Palesa (Mokgosi) about my service fees since donations were paid into her account. She just sent transport money and promised to discuss the rest over the phone,” she explained.
Mmesi alleges that when she enquired about her payment the following day, Mokgosi was a completely different person who refused to pay for her services or transport money for her to return home. Mokgosi, however, says it was all a misunderstanding.
She alleges she made it clear from the beginning that all speakers, including the MC, were doing it voluntarily because of limited funds. “I sent her [Mmesi] R400 for trans-port because that is what Merrygold told me she needed,” Mokgosi said.
“I never agreed to pay her for being a host.” The other half of the organisers, Merrygold Moshoaliba, says she is devastated at how things unfolded. “Palesa [Mokgosi] and I had bonded because we both had cancer. Over time, we became close friends. That was the first time I had worked on an event with her,” she explained.
“I trusted her with most of the organising because I could not be in Potch as I reside in Welkom,” Merry-gold said. “We used her bank account to collect funds. Not once did I ask to see her bank statement because I trusted her that much.
“The day before the event, we used her card to do last-minute grocery shopping, and the event commenced as planned on Saturday,” she said. At the function, guests could either make donations by placing money into the box provided or pay them into Palesa Mokgosi’s account.
The two admit they planned to get together on Sunday, 23 April, to calculate how much had been collected and how the money would be used to benefit the cancer patients, as planned. However, due to a misunderstanding, the meetup did not happen, and Palesa took it upon herself to pay some service providers.
Although Merrygold says she cannot account for how much they made, she admits they experienced a shortage of funds. “The event was never meant to benefit us in any way. When I was diagnosed with cancer, I negotiated with God that once He had healed me, I would spend the rest of my life giving back without expecting anything in return,” she lamented.
Mokgosi says they sold approximately 70 tickets when they had planned to host 150 guests. “Of the sold tickets, Potchefstroom Healthcare Centre sponsored 20, while other parties donated by buying items we were running short of,” she said. “We used the money we collected to buy food and pay a portion of the services provided.”
Event organiser Cindo Kambikambi, responsible for the decor at the event, says it was unfair for the pair to notify her later that they would only show their gratitude for her services in the form of a thank-you gift instead of payment.
“Because it was a charity event, I never expected them to pay the full amount in any case, but I would have been grateful if they had at least covered the cost of the flowers because I had to dip into my business’ savings,” she said. Following how things unfolded, Cindo says she is okay with waiting for the pair to sort out other service providers before they cover her costs.
“This was a learning curve for them. For future events, I would advise them to work side by side for every step of the event,” she said.
The pair apologises to the community for the uncertainty caused and promises to see that service providers are paid and at least 10 cancer patients receive food hampers, as promised, by the end of June. Palesa said the Herald will be invited to witness the handover.
