Sulumani Chimbetu duped, attacked and robbed of cash in SA

By Nyore Madzianike

ORCHESTRA Dendera Kings had a nightmarish tour of South Africa after it was reportedly duped by one of the event organisers and robbed of cash at one of the gigs, with chaos marring all their performances.

The Sulumani Chimbetu-led band was forced to cancel its July 26 show at Club Dominos in Witbank after failing to agree on terms with the show organiser, Tinashe Mvundhla, who they described as a “crook”.

Orchestra Dendera Kings took to its Facebook page to vent anger at Mvundhla and the “thugs” who robbed them of cash during their show.

“We failed to perform in Witbank on Friday because the ‘promoter’ Tinashe Mvundhla turned out to be a crook who capitalises on Zimbabwean musicians and venue owners,” they said.

Sulu’s band claimed it faced serious security problems during its other performance in Johannesburg, which ended with police using pepper sprays to disperse people from the venue.

Orchestra Dendera Kings experienced the same security challenges in Pretoria where some fans forced themselves into the venue while ‘thugs’ attempted to snatch cash from its band members, who were collecting entrance fees.

The Dendera music band also claimed their boss was manhandled by some bouncers, who were demanding cash from him during the show.

“All hell broke loose when Sulu went for a breather and bouncers besieged him demanding money.

“He managed to break free from them and ran out of the venue leaving two of his band members managing the show.

“When he was outside, another car sped towards him and he sought refuge in his car which was nearby,” the band said.

The Orchestra Dendera Kings placed blame for the mishap on Mvundhla, whom they accused of failing to put proper security systems.

Mvundhla refuted the accusations saying they were forced to cancel the Witbank show after the sound engineer failed to turn up for the gig.

“I do not know where all that is coming from.

“The problem we had was that the person who was supposed to bring the sound failed to turn up and to worsen the matter Sulu only arrived at around 11.30pm.

There was no way we could have continued with the show when he had arrived that late and without the sound system,” he said.

Mvundhla also accused Sulu of failing to abide by their agreement. He claimed Sulu and his band vanished with gate-takings, which they were supposed to share after the shows.

“I do not owe them anything. In fact, they owe me some money since they disappeared with gate-takings, which we were supposed to share after the shows,” he said.

Mvundhla placed blame on Sulu’s friend only identified as Rungano, who is based in Cape Town, for their attempt to tarnish his name. The Herald