Kenny Kunene has been the talk of town for the last couple of years.  From throwing sushi parties to organising international acts including Lil’ Kim to perform in SA, controversial businessman Kenny Kunene’s sudden shot to fame created a buzz.But it was only a matter of time before the rumour mill hit the father of three hard.

Earlier in the year, headlines were cluttered with news that the Free State born and bred former convict was rapidly running broke. His ETV reality show So What?, lasted for two seasons but those in the know said the 41-year-old had to stop the show because he had been funding it himself.

As if that was not enough, his ZAR Lounge in Sandton was closed after just 18 months of operation, fuelling the rumours of his worrying financial situation. But Kenny, also known as The Sushi King, dismissed these rumours as utter rubbish. “If I’m broke then I definitely don’t know about it and my financial advisor has not told me,” he told a weekly magazine at the time.

In May he announced that he and his wife of over 16 years, Connie, had decided to split and he has been keeping a low profile ever since. This after he came out as being a polygamist and saying having more than one partner is a cultural practice.

Speaking exclusively to ZAlebs Kenny tells us why he has been quiet and what he has been up to. The former fraud star also tells us why he is in support of the izikhothane culture which consists of young people, predominantly from underprivileged backgrounds, showing their ‘swag’ by dressing in extremely expensive clothes and being over-indulgent in everything from food to cell phones.

Where have you been? 

I have been keeping out of the public eye deliberately but I am about to shake things up a little bit. I can’t divulge too much but people will be seeing me on TV in September. I have signed a lucrative deal with an international brand. I have already shot the commercial – it is all things Kenny, it has so much swag. It will get people talking.

What is happening with ZAR? It’s been almost a year since you closed the Sandton Lounge…

Watch this space. My business partner and I have decided to make ZAR a franchise and we will be opening ZAR Café in Kimberly soon. People like cooked pots but don’t want to get their hands dirty – we are not afraid to try new things.

You were very vocal about your support of Izikhothane when 3rd Degree did a feature on them, tell us more? 

I actually plan to throw a huge party for all the izikhothanes in our country. I will do it in line with my annual party celebrations in October. I’m busy trying to secure a stadium in the East Rand for this big party. We will be bragging and being wasteful on stage.

But why do you support this controversial culture? 

If you condemn young people, they create their own family and a family of young people is a family that corrupts. I want to guide these young children because I am a role model to them. I’m all about self-indulgence and self-satisfaction. I want to keep them focused and let them live their lives. I want to make being isikhothane a movement.

I can relate with them because I also used to wear Calvin Klein to school, even if I was poor at home. I made sure I looked good. I like things. At the end of the day we are all sikhothanes – have you heard how people compare weaves and things like that? Even politicians wear designer labels and give each other a heads up!

I don’t agree with the kids tearing clothes and doing silly things like pouring Ultramel in the streets. It is a sign that they need guidance. I want to encourage them to go to school. They don’t deserve to be judged though.

I will also be throwing my annual party at my church. I will buy 12 cakes and have a big celebration with the children and the old people there. Some of them are very poor so having a party is something they can’t afford. I believe in giving back to the community but I also believe in enjoying the fine things in life – I am a proud sikhothane.