Reggae superstar under fire over no-show

Reggae superstar Colbert Mukwehvo is embroiled in a dispute with the organisers of the Makgabeng Senwabarwana traditional music concert who have accused him of failing to show up for the event held in Bochum on 24 December last year.
Organiser Tlou Setumu claimed they had paid Mukwevho R25 000 in advance for his services but that he never showed up for his scheduled performance.
Polokwane Observer contacted Mukwevho who said it won’t be easy for him to pay back the money due to several reasons. In a statement Mukwevho said: “When payment for live performances come in we put out money for transport, pay members of the band and everyone goes about their business and spend the money,” Mukwevho said.
He also furthered as reasons for his no-show that that he was not given the right directions and was not familiar with the venue. “On the day of the show we were travelling in two cars and one of our cars got to Bochum earlier than the one I was travelling in because we were using a navigator which could not help us either. We arrived in Bochum at around 19.00, which was the scheduled time of performance,” Mukwevho claimed.
He said he personally made a call to Setumu who was the only contact person at that time. “Unfortunately his phone was on voicemail. I tried several times because we wanted to know exactly where the venue was in Bochum, but in vain. I even texted him in case it could have been a battery problem that he might have been trying to charge. We made several calls to Setumo but he was on voicemail all the time. When discussing this with him he said that there was a network problem,” Mukwevho said.
“That directions were given to me is something I have no knowledge of. I mean I didn’t receive any email with directions, except that I knew that it was in Bochum,” Mukwevho stated.
He later said he was willing to pay back the money from his own pocket, even though most of it had already been spent on transport and the band. “In my discussion with Setumu we agreed that even if I had to pay it back we should take into consideration that I wouldn’t be able to pay all of it at once, and that we should take into consideration that January and February are like a dry season to us. Hopefully everything will start to shape up towards the end of March,” he concluded.
Setumu said they were disappointed with Mukwevho’s attitude.
“How did he get lost? He knew about the show long before. We thought he was trustworthy. We expected him to come to the show and perform. He is tarnishing his image with his lies. We told him that we want our money. If he doesn’t pay up I am going to expose him to government departments,” Setumu said.

Story: Herbert Rachuene
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