Open Mic Productions Managing Director Advocate Nkateko Maluleke has hit back at the claims that their stable and artist  Makhadzi are being sued of millions of Rands. This comes after media reports this week that Open Mic Productions and Makhadzi have been dragged to the Pretoria High Court and are sued for R8,2 million for breaching the terms and conditions of the contract they had with the singer.                                                                                                                                                  "Open Mic Productions wishes to place on record that the complainant failed to keep his end of the bargain and was actually in breach of his contractual obligations from day one. Open Mic Productions dismisses the reported R8million lawsuit against Makhadzi. The complainant makes some gross and unsubstantiated claims in his summons which we would like to dismiss as falsehoods, fabrications and misrepresentation of how the events unfolded," the statement reads.

EMPTY PROMISES

Maluleke said that Open Mic entered into an agreement with the complainant in October 2021 worth R120 million, which the value projection made sense financially and legally. "The supplier insisted that we launch the Kokovha Kicks Footwear even when we had concerns that the peak festive shopping season was looming and we had no stock in hand. Stock never arrived in the agreed 90 days. It wasn't until February 2022 that 6900 shoes were received. Several attempts were made by Open Mic Productions to assist the supplier to honour the obligation of delivering the goods. In terms of the contract, the complainant was to provide 8000 pairs of shoes on a monthly basis and that has not happened to this date," the statement reads. Maluleke said they questioned the him about his capacity and he insisted that he would manage. "Open Mic Productions went as far as providing him with Makhadzi's weekly schedule so that he could arrange activations around the country to increase the sale of shoes, but he failed or simply refused to arrange the activations. We had only one activation in Makhado, that was organised by Open Mic Productions, and begged the complainant to participate and he did not. A number of units were sold at this activation. Immediately after the Makhado activation, the complainant stopped taking our calls and refused to participate in planning meetings or any engagements relating to the project. A few weeks later we received a lawyers' letter in April. In an attempt to rescue the project, we asked for a meeting with the complainant without the lawyers. At this meeting it was agreed that we will attempt to jointly salvage the situation. Instead of a meaningful engagement with the complainant, we received summons plus particulars of claim. Even at this stage we reached out to the complainant and his lawyers to see if we could save the project considering that the agreement was to lapse in a few months, the discussions did not yield any meaningful results," the statement further reads.

PUZZLED BY THE R8 MILLION CLAIM

Maluleke further said they are puzzled by his claim of R8 million considering that Makhadzi has lost earnings due to the fact that she had exclusivity tied to the deal and as such missed other opportunities. "On several occasions during the month of December 2021, Makhadzi called Kicks asking for merchandise to wear on stage and nothing was delivered. She was given almost every excuse under the sun on why the shoes were not available. We were made aware by some of Makhadzi's fans that when they ordered her Kokovha shoe range online, they instead received a pair of Kicks (a brand owned by the complainant) with no explanation. The complainant failed to deliver from day one. As Open Mic Productions we didn't make noise about it, we didn't want to ruin an aspirant small black businessman. Upon receipt of summons from the complainant we could have issued as counterclaim but we did not, instead we opted for a meaningful discussion with the complainant to resolve this issue in an amicable manner," the statement further says. Maluleke says it appears that he wants to tarnish the image of Open Mic Productions if the hostility they have received from his end is anything to go by. "The truth is that his capacity doesn't exist and his work ethic is questionable. He simply doesn't know what he's doing. We did everything we could to help the situation. The rights of Open Mic Productions remain reserved in this regard and if it means litigation, we are ready."

DENIAL

Yesterday Makhadzi denied knowing anything about the lawsuit to Zimoja. On the other hand founder and CEO of Kicks Sammy Mhaule confirmed to Zimoja that they were suing Makhadzi and Open Mic for breach of contract.