The continued ascension of Ashley ‘DJ Shimza’ Raphala as a ‘kasi’ entrepreneur has rubbed social media ‘Sherlocks’ the wrong way, it seems.
Is DJ Shimza milking public funds?
Right after a weekend filled with cash-generating birthday celebrations, Shimza, who probably spent his Monday nursing a headache, was thrown into a whirlwind of allegations.
Things turned for the worst when Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane revealed the poster to a ‘cook-off event with Somizi Mhlongo as the main guest.
This event will take place at Shimza’s restaurant in Tembisa, Soweto, and while this looks like more randela’s for the hard-working DJ, others cast a shoddy eyebrow over his continued ‘paid work’ with the government.
I will hosting this event with @somizi & actually request those who criticise this event to go and check Celebrity Cook shows which is a global trend. We commit to work with all SAns in rebuilding the Tourism Sector #TourismRecovery pic.twitter.com/JTIiTkLWJR
— Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane (@mmKubayiNgubane) May 16, 2021
Amid the flurry of allegations made by renowned heckler Nota Baloyi, Shimza issued a response, pointing ‘Sherlocks’ to the Tourism Department for further queries related to their choice of the Hang Awt as the venue of choice for the cook-off event.
Where does Athi Geleba fit into all of this?
“It’s always corruption there, not here and it will always be like that. Le wena, fix your heart and if it’s answers you want, ask the department of tourism, they asked for a venue and we agreed, full stop. No amount of finger pointing will make your statement true,” he replied in a tweet.
Keyboard investigators went a step further and tied the DJ to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Athi Geleba. According to online users, Geleba is allegedly at the centre of paid gigs Shimza receives from the government, from his pioneering Lockdown House Party to the tourism events that take place at his venues.
FRAME 1: Somizi got cook off gig from TOURISM Minister at Shimza's Restaurant (tourism&cooking ♂️) Fmr tourism minister is Fikile Mbalula, same person who told Somizi about lockdown
— #BlackLivesMatter✊ (@Pseudonym_X92) May 17, 2021
FRAME 2: Athi Geleba, PRESIDENCY speaker tweets about the event
FRAMES 3 & 4: SAME BACKGROUND pic.twitter.com/Px31oyduh6
However, without so much as a shred of irrefutable proof, these allegations remain just that — untested claims that hold no weight.
Our attempts to get a statement from Shimza and Geleba were unsuccessful, at the time this article was published.