Mthandeni SK served with letter of demand after 'no-show' at Durban Music Fest

TimesLIVE

25-05-2025

Popular maskandi star Mthandeni Sibusiso Manqele, better known as Mthandeni SK, is embroiled in a legal dispute with Blue Screen Entertainment, a prominent events company, after a no-show at the Durban Music Fest.
The company issued a letter of demand to Mthandeni SK after he allegedly failed to perform on May 3 at the festival at Moses Mabhida stadium, at which American musician Rick Ross was the headliner, even though he was paid fully before the festival.
According to the letter, a copy of which has been obtained by TshisaLIVE, dated May 16 and signed by Brian Steel, head of legal at Blue Screen Entertainment, Mthandeni SK was contracted to perform at the festival. The company claims he was paid R40,000 for his performance — a deposit of R20,000 when he signed the contract and the final balance of R20,000 on May 2. However, Mthandeni SK allegedly skipped his performance and performed instead at the 25th Metro FM Music Awards in Mbombela.
'Despite receiving the full payment of R40,000, you failed to attend or perform at the festival, and you did not contact Blue Screen Entertainment or any of its representatives to communicate your unavailability. Further, it has been brought to our attention and confirmed through public and social media footage that you were instead performing at the Metro FM Awards on the same date in another city,' the letter states.
The organisation said Mthandeni SK's no-show had caused it significant reputational and potential commercial damage.
It demanded the immediate return of the final R20,000 final payment made on May 2 for services not rendered no later than May 23, which was Friday.
'Failure to comply with the letter of demand will leave Blue Screen Entertainment with no alternative but to pursue legal action for breach of contract and damages without further notice,' it stated.
Asked for comment by TshisaLIVE, Mthandeni SK's office said: 'Yes, he performed at the Metros because their money was better, Mthandeni is a very busy man and sometimes he gets more than five gigs per day and some gigs he can't make it. However, we've reached out to the Blue Screen Entertainment guys and arranged when they'll expect their refund.'
In a statement on Sunday, Blue Screen Entertainment said: 'Our company compensated Mthandeni SK with R40,000 in accordance with a signed contract for the Durban Music Festival scheduled on May 3. Unfortunately, instead of honouring this commitment, Mthandeni SK chose to perform at the Metro FM Awards on the same evening without notifying us of his absence.
'Upon confronting Mthandeni SK management about this breach of contract, his manager explained that they were unable to return the funds immediately, attributing the situation to a supposed scheduling conflict. It was stated that they 'simply forgot' to communicate with us, despite Mthandeni SK manager confirming his attendance with our team the day prior to the festival.
'After several discussions, his manager indicated that Mthandeni SK has a separate fee structure for promotional postings and proposed returning only R20,000 of the initial payment. We agreed to this resolution; however, as of today, we have yet to receive the adjusted amount we had mutually consented upon.'