Former Sports presenter Owen 'Gatsheni' Ndlovu is taking on Ukhozi FM station manager Sbongi Ngcobo for allegedly stealing his concept and generating money from it. In an affidavit seen by Zimoja, Ndlovu claims the Ukhozi FM station manager made over R500 000 using his concept, Summer Song of the Year Competition. He has vowed to fight until the end to get what he believes is due to him.

CRIMINAL CHARGES

Ndlovu recently opened criminal charges against the Durban based station manager at the Mondeor Police Station, South of Johannesburg, on 22 October 2022. " In 2016, I signed a contract with the SABC to do a voting competition using sms line with all 18 SABC radio stations participating in this competition. All radio stations were going to use the same sms line provided by my company which was 33175. The winner of the competition was going to be announced on the New Year's Eve every year,' the affidavit reads, adding that, "around June 2017 , SABC announced that they would investigate all contracts signed by SABC in the previous years.My contract was one of them. It was investigated but later, in the same year around November, it was found that there was nothing untoward and my contract was cleared to resume business with SABC. As it was already late in November, we agreed with the SABC that the competition would not go ahead that year. Contrary to that arrangement, Sbongi Ngcobo (Station Manager of Ukhozi FM) went ahead and did the competition without consent from SABC and myself. She went on with the same concept wrongly so.....Any decision between myself and SABC was binding to all radio stations as well as station managers. Sbongi went on and acted without instructions from Auckland Park, which is the head office of all SABC radio stations. She had no authority to do what she did.'

MONEY NOT DECLARED TO RIGHTFUL OWNER

The affidavit further reads that,"Sbongi Ngcobo went against SABC and Michael Owen Productions agreements which were the signatories and did the competition for her personal gain. She did not declare the money to the rightful owner of the competition. She even changed the SMS line from 33175 to 45926 . The authorised person from SABC was Sibongile Mtyali and Michael Owen Productions was represented by myself Owen Ndlovu. Sbongi had no authority to go ahead with the concept. The idea was to steal the public funds and my money, of which she did....the money generated was over R500 000. It is sad to announce that Sbongi Ngcobo stole all the money from the proceeds. I therefore would like to open a case of theft against Miss Sbongi Ngcobo. To date Mis Ngcobo has refused to pronounce on the whereabouts of my money. I have exhausted all avenues but nothing has happened. We wrote to her seniors but we are starting to suspect that this is a syndicate,' the affidavit reads.

 STRESS RELATED DISEASES

When contacted for comment, Ndlovu said  he believes that Sbongi Ngcobo has broken the law and must face the long arm of the law. "My wife is very suicidal right now. The doctors have diagnosed both of us with stress related diseases. I hope and pray that the long arm of the law will find her guilty and justice will prevail." Contacted for  for comment, Ngcobo refused to comment and directed all queries to the SABC's Communications Department. "The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has noted media enquiries relating to the allegations of a criminal court case against Ukhozi FM Business Manager Ms. Sbongi Ngcobo by a certain production house.The SABC would like to clearly state that the Corporation bears no knowledge of such a case, as the matter has not been brought to the SABC's attention. In a case where law enforcement authorities approach the SABC, the Corporation will respond accordingly. In terms of the allegations levelled against Ms Ngcobo, the SABC would like to publicly state that the allegations are baseless, untrue and seek to damage her personal and professional reputation," said SABC's Gugu Ntuli, Group Executive: Corporate Affairs and Marketing. Spokesperson Captain Mavela Masondo confirmed, "Police can confirm that a case of theft has been opened at Mondeor Police Station. Investigation is underway, no arrests have been made yet," said Gauteng SAPS Spokesperson Captain Mavela Masondo.