HAWKS CIRCLE ‘SLIPPERY’ PROMOTER
CONTROVERSIAL music promoter Morris Roda is facing possible arrest after he allegedly failed to repay R3m of taxpayer’s money he received from the Department of Arts and Culture to organise a tribute concert for the late Miriam Makeba that did not take place.
Sunday World can today reveal that Roda is being probed by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation Unit the Hawks and that investigations are said to be at an advanced stage.
The elite unit launched the investigation in 2010.
Roda got R3m from the department to organise the concert in honour of Mama Africa but aborted it after the Makeba family complained he did not get permission from them to do so.
The department then took him to court, arguing that he was not logistically ready to organise the event.
At that stage the court ruled in his favour, accepting the argument that the concert had to be postponed instead of being cancelled – but he still failed to stage the event at a later stage.
What Roda did with the funds is still a mystery.
We can reveal that the Hawks have already asked musicians who were booked by Roda to perform at the concert to depose affidavits about this matter.
Sunday World is in possession of an unsigned affidavit by one of the popular musicians interviewed by the Hawks.
The singer, who is known to Sunday World, asked to remain anonymous. She says she refused to sign the affidavit.
“They came to me and said they wanted to take a statement from me about the concert because they knew I was one of the artists scheduled to perform there, ” she says.
“After that interview they prepared an affidavit and asked me to sign, which I refused to do because they did not explain to me the repercussions of doing so.”
The musician’s affidavit reads in part: “I know (sic) Mr Morris Roda since 1985, as he was one of the first black musical promoters in South Africa.
“During August 2009, he approached me to perform during a concert scheduled for 9 August 2009 in honour of Miriam Makeba.
“Mr Roda entered into a contract for payment of my performance fees. He paid me 50% of my appearance fee upfront. Mr Roda informed me that the Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) were (sic) to sponsor of the event.
“The concert did not materialise. I later received a call from Ms Zensi Lee (Ms Lee), the granddaughter of Miriam Makeba. She informed me that Mr Roda was not mandated to organise the Miriam Makeba tribute concert.
“After that Mr Roda informed me that he won a court case to have the concert postponed and that he was scheduling it for November 2009. He did not request my participation.
“During the latter part of October 2009, I learnt that my name is (sic) associated with a Miriam Makeba Memorial concert scheduled for the weekend of 7 to 9 November.
“I was concerned as I did not receive an invitation and/or contract to perform. I contacted Mr Roda, informing him of my concerns. He apologised to me, stating that he wanted me to perform during the weekend.
“I never heard from Mr Roda again regarding the concert.”
The department’s spokesperson Kalay Maistry says: “The investigation into Morris Roda is ongoing.
“The department does not want to prejudice the investigation and therefore will not comment on this matter until the inquiry into Roda is concluded.”
Roda declines to comment, claiming: “I’m not aware that I’m being investigated and therefore it would be premature for me to comment on things I don’t know. ”
Hawks spokesperson McIntosh Polela failed to respond to questions sent to him.
He also ignored our telephone and text messages.