Makhadzi finally surfaced with a detailed response to the R8.2 million lawsuit she and her company, Open Mic Productions, have been meddled in.
Makhadzi clears the air around R8.2 million lawsuit
Earlier this week, the Sunday World published a gob-smacking exclusive that placed the African Queen at the centre of a multi-million-rand lawsuit involving her now-former business partner, Kicks Sportswear.
From what we understand, sneaker businessman, Ndivhudzannyi Ralivhona, has hauled Makhadzi to the Pretoria High Court, claiming she and her brand breached terms which explicitly obliged her to perform in the Kicks Kokovha collaboration they launched in December 2021.
“The partner agrees that the brand participate in a number of activities arranged by Kicks Sportswear. This includes participation through a series of social media posts both on Kicks Sportswear social media account and also on Makhadzi social media account, event appearances, speaking engagements and media interviews, following guidelines as set out by the corporation and its agencies,” Ralivhona claimed.
According to court documents, Kicks Sportswear is seeking an amount totalling R8 249 120 which is calculated based on the unit price of the 6 900 pairs manufactured in the deal.
However, in response to the lawsuit, Makhadzi countered with her own list of accusations.
According to Makhadzi’s version of events, she and Kicks Sportswear had allegedly entered into a R120 million deal that would see Ralivhona manufacture 8 000 pairs of Kokovha sneakers per month.
This branded merch was, Makhadzi explained, supposed to be sold at activations which should have taken place at venues where the singer was due to perform.
However, not only did Ralivhona allegedly only manage to produce 6 900 sneakers after numerous hurdles, he allegedly “failed to keep his end of the bargain and was actually in breach of his contractual obligations from day one.”
“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 Khokhova shoe range online, they instead received a pair of Kicks (a brand owned by the complainant),” the statement read.
Makhadzi scoffed the lawsuit as an attempt by Ralivhona to “tarnish the image of Open Mic Productions.”
“The truth is that his capacity doesn’t exist and his work ethic is questionable. He simply doesn’t know what he’s doing,” Makhadzi blasted.
Here is the complete statement from the Limpopo songstress: