King Monada in court over performance no-show
A summons, recently served to Monada, stems from his reported non-performance at the Limpopo Legends Awards (Lilas) in 2022.
POLOKWANE – Renowned musician Khutso Kgatla, better known by his stage name King Monada, is scheduled to appear in court on September 2 after being accused of failing to perform at a popular annual event in 2022, despite being paid in advance.
The summons, recently served to Monada, stems from his reported non-performance at the Limpopo Legends Awards (Lilas) in 2022.
The event, organised by the Limpopo Arts Movement (Lam), aimed to honour iconic figures in music, including Caiphus Semenya, Letta Mbulu, Penny Penny and Sello Galane.
Lam chairperson Mphoza Mashabela served the court papers to Monada through his attorneys at Thobejane Incorporate. According to Mashabela, King Monada initially promised to rectify the situation by performing at the next Limpopo Legends Awards in 2023. However, he allegedly failed to fulfil this commitment, despite writing a letter of intent to do so.
The letter, written by King Monada Music, stated: “This letter serves as a commitment to perform at the next Lila Awards 2023 after the performance scheduled for November 5, 2022, didn’t materialise. King Monada Music commits itself to performing at NO additional costs. The amount of R35 000 received from Mashabela Mpho for the event will NOT be increased as per the agreement.”
Mashabela expressed frustration with King Monada’s lack of promotion for the 2022 show and accused the artist of deceit.
“Monada failed to promote our show from the beginning. Now he must pay back the money. I compromised last year’s event hoping he’d eventually fulfil his obligations, but he fooled us again, intentionally so,” Mashabela said.
Harry Thobejane from Thobejane Incorporate, said attempts to resolve the matter amicably were unsuccessful.
“I called King Monada with the hope that he’d settle this matter. Unfortunately, he refused and displayed a high level of arrogance and rudeness. I was left with no option but to serve him with a letter of demand, which he ignored,” Thobejane stated.
The summons demands a public apology, a refund, damages and legal costs. Thobejane said if Kgatla ignores the summons, they will seek a default judgment in court.
Kgatla and his manager, Albert Makwela, are yet to respond to phone calls made to them last week.
