Award-winning South African musician and singer Simphiwe Dana has not been able to keep her name out of the trending list this weekend. This was after a tweet of hers went viral in which she openly criticised the leadership skills of president Cyril in a tweet last week. The songstress has never been shy in voicing her opinions and calling out anyone that she disagrees with. Her most recent tweets may have landed her in hot water.
Her tweet was based on some of the unpopular policies and laws made under the Ramaphosa administration. She took to Twitter to address her followers by tweeting “I know we’re scared to say it. But Ramaphosa is the worst president we have had”.
I know we’re scared to say it. But Ramaphosa is the worst president we have had.
Her tweet did not go unnoticed and sparked a load of backlash as well as a debate that soon followed as a result. Yet Simphiwe's trending status did not go down quietly after that ordeal. Instead, she seemed to land herself in more drama this time, this time the drama involved her musical and business dealings. Never the less she stood her ground and defended herself in a follow up tweet tweeting "I opened your your eyes about Zille. And you gave me a lot of flack for it. I expect a lot of flack for this too"
I opened your your eyes about Zille. And you gave me a lot of flack for it. I expect a lot of flack for this too
Tweeps began to call the songstress out for her hypocrisy when documents and evidence seemed to appear on everyone's timelines alleging that her business dealings were less than savoury.
The main point of suspicion in Dana’s involvement in the national lotteries commission in which she allegedly awarded a grant of R500 000 after applying for a grant and being approved within two weeks which is unheard of in the world of artist grants, many artists and companies spend months waiting for a grant.
This investigation into the National Lottery Commission and its revelations around Simphiwe Dana was found after she posted about President Ramaphosa’s poor leadership skills, leading people to believe that this investigation was carried out because she spoke out of turn about the president, others believe it was pure karma and coincidence that the findings of Dana’s grant were released.
Dana is not the only celebrity caught in a corruption scandal a few weeks earlier Dr Tumi, a popular gospel star, was found to have given fraudulent documents to the National Lotteries Commission, in which they listed themselves as a non-profit organization for which they were awarded R760 000 from the funds.
While there has been no formalised legal action into Dana's proceedings as everything does look legitimate on paper, people found it highly suspicious that her grant was approved in such a short time where the vetting process for companies often takes weeks or months.
News of Dana's alleged fraudulent activities left many tweeps feeling disappointed in the proceedings of the creative arts industry. noting that some people such as Simphiwe Dana might be receiving preferential treatment when it comes to funding for creative projects.
Dana has yet to make a statement regarding this situation.
