A rocky relationship between neighbours is reaching breaking point.
On one side is a lively musician living life loud and on the other are average citizens wanting to enjoy the peace of their tranquil surroundings. The incident that created the latest fissure was the theft of the musician’s trophies and the subsequent slating of her neighbours in a magazine article. The residents have yet to be given an opportunity by that publication to respond and have reached out to air their side of events.
Also read: https://www.citizen.co.za/roodepoort-record/2018/07/31/singer-stabbed-by-beggar-in-strubens-valley/
Known by her stage name, Zahara, Bulelewa Mkutukana moved into the picturesque development just over ten years ago. Neighbours said first impressions were positive but these have since turned sour as regular late-night parties, rowdy and disrespectful visitors, drinking and littering on common property, and feuds over a electricity meter have pushed the relationships seemingly beyond repair.
See video here: https://youtu.be/St_g7kLxe-Y
Rowdy neighbours are a common occurrence but residents note how the blatant disregard for their concerns angers them. James McCarthy lives next door to Mkutukana and has documented much of his encounters with his celebrity neighbour. In one attempt to get them to turn down the music in the early hours of the morning, James claimed he was pelted with meat from their braai. James added that regularly, and at all hours, the musician’s friends ring all the residents through the intercom in an effort to gain access.
A sheriff’s notice delivered to the development stated that Mkutukana owes almost half a million rand on her City of Johannesburg account. James has regularly encountered men reconnecting the disconnected power and in one incident, when he approached men in City Power uniform, he claimed multiple police vehicles with heavily armed officers arrived hours later at his front door to arrest him.
James elaborated that he was accused of being armed while in his driveway, but James does not not own a firearm. Additionally, the covers of the meters were once swapped in an effort to deceive anyone who may investigate.
In late April, Mkutukana reported the theft of several trophies she received at the South African Music Awards (SAMA). Honeydew Police spokesperson, Captain Balan Muthan, confirmed that the incident is still under investigation and that information will be shared should the trophies be recovered. However, the musician implied publicly that her home may have been violated by those in the immediate vicinity.
Milo Nyathi maintains most of the gardens in the development and has worked in and around the properties for almost 30 years. The man now refuses to continue working for Mkutukana after police searched his home in Princess in connection with the theft of the trophies. Milo is wholeheartedly trusted and the residents are irate at the embarrassment she has caused him.
Residents claim that Mkutukana did make an attempt to schedule a meeting to smooth matters over but when the time came, the musician did not honour the appointment. In Mkutukana’s rant to the magazine publication, she noted the safety of the complex. Residents of the development pay a small fee for the security, but this is something the celebrity does not pay. As a condition of the meeting mentioned, Mkutukana needed to make a contribution to the security fund and duly paid one year’s worth of fees.
The musician has been sent questions in order to give her a chance to defend these claims, but repeated requests for feedback have been fruitless.
