South Africa’s High Court has thrown out an urgent bid by singer Amanda “Ami” Faku, ordering costs against her label owner and former manager Raphael Benza.
Key takeaways
- The High Court dismissed Faku’s urgent application, with costs awarded against the label owner and former manager.
- Faku sought an interdict to stop Benza and his company from claiming she is governed by 2018 artist agreements tied to her music.
- Benza said his side had tried for years to reach a settlement with Faku, and argued the judge backed their position.
- He stressed that his team still wants an amicable resolution and is continuing to urge Faku to settle.
- Faku’s representatives did not provide comment when contacted.
- The court fight is linked to a dispute running for more than two years about the end of their artist agreement.
Benza responds after the court dismissal
Faku had asked the court to issue an interdict barring Benza and his business from allegedly telling publishers, distribution companies, and the public that she is bound by 2018 “artist agreements” covering her musical works.
Those works include her album Ezikude and the single Ndisize, which were referenced in the bid to halt the claims.
In comments to TshisaLIVE, Benza—described as the chief opportunity creator and culture architect at The Vth Season—said that over the past three years, he and his team had been trying to persuade Faku to sign a settlement agreement, adding that their stance has not changed.
“We don’t feel like we won against Ami because we never tried to fight against her. We just got to a point where we had to put across our position, and the judge agreed with our position on the matter,” Benza said.
He added that his side believes it has remained consistent in what it wants to achieve. “Our position still stands on what we want to do. We’ve always been in support of Ami’s career, and we want to make sure that this ends up with an amicable settlement. We are still appealing to Ami to settle.”
TshisaLIVE also reached out to Faku’s team, but the outlet reported that the group declined to comment.
Ongoing dispute tied to the end of the artist contract
The urgent application arrives while a separate dispute—connected to the winding up of the artist agreement contract—has been unfolding for more than two years.
