The chips are down in the standoff between the three directors of South Africa’s most successful gospel choir.
After being accused of financial mismanagement by his two partners, Joyous Celebration co-director Lindelani Mkhize has hit back with his own list of serious allegations against Jabu Hlongwane and Mthunzi Namba.
Mkhize takes specific aim at Hlongwane, accusing him of diverting funds to personal accounts, blocking Mkhize from accessing Joyous Celebration Foundation NPC’s banking transactions, and being “secretive” about the company’s finances.
He also claims the two received hundreds of thousands of rands in performance fees for events at which they did not perform.
The allegations form part of an alternative dispute resolution application before the Companies Tribunal, following a recommendation last year by a Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) investigator.
In his submission, Mkhize reiterates that he was denied access to the foundation’s banking records and alleges that Hlongwane diverted company funds to personal accounts.
The latest claims follow submissions by Hlongwane and Namba earlier this year, and come as the choir embarks on its Joyous 30/30 Tour to celebrate its 30th anniversary. The tour kicks off in Johannesburg on April 30 and will feature 30 iconic songs.
In their initial complaint, Hlongwane and Namba accused Mkhize of financial irregularities, including:
- failing to disclose and account for monies owed to the corporation, which allegedly resulted in a R1m tax demand from Sars in 2024;
- securing sponsorships — including from MTN, African Bank and Bathu Sneakers — and hosting events such as the Restoration show (2022), the Replenishment Concert and Delicious Festival (2023), and the Soulful Explosion gospel concert (2025) without proper disclosure;
- directing payments from these events to his personal account or companies under his control;
- using company assets to fund more than R1m in personal travel and car rental expenses over three years; and
- taking a R300,000 loan from Joyous Celebration in 2017 for his own entity and failing to repay it.
In his response, Mkhize alleges that:
- two properties belonging to the corporation were sold without his knowledge;
- “unauthorised payments” of R378,000 were made to Hlongwane and R380,500 to Namba, allegedly for performances at events where they did not appear, including the Replenishment Concert in 2024; and
- Hlongwane diverted funds to a personal account labelled “office caddy”, which Mkhize claims was for personal benefit.
Responding to the Sars claims, Mkhize says he has fulfilled his role as conductor, producer and creative director, and that Hlongwane — who managed the accounts — “failed to discharge the organisation’s VAT obligations to Sars”.
He says that when the company’s bank account was opened in September 2016, he received notifications of all transactions, but that Hlongwane later blocked his access.
“I did not independently receive, administer or control any sponsorship funds, including those associated with MTN, African Bank or Mzansi Magic,” he said. “I came across shocking revelations as to the state of the group.”
The source of these funds is completely unknown to me
— Lindelani Mkhize, Joyous Celebration co-director
Mkhize further alleges that in 2019 Hlongwane established a full-time office to manage Joyous Celebration’s administration and assumed full responsibility for its finances.
He presented what he describes as evidence that the corporation’s account reflected cumulative credits of about R3,153,555.00, with transaction references including “ReversedFund (Errorc)”, “VAT Repayments”, “VATFundsLoans”, “VATAccount” and “ReversedFundsVAT”.
“The source of these funds is completely unknown to me,” Mkhize said.
“Interestingly, I noticed that most of these monies would be credited towards the end of each month or when Sars payments were due. I further noted several payments reflected as having been made into Mr Hlongwane’s personal bank account under references such as ‘Office Caddy’.
“There appears to be no lawful or contractual basis for funds of the corporation to have been paid directly into his personal account.
“Hlongwane has always been very secretive about the financial affairs of Joyous Celebration. Most financial decisions were made unilaterally.”
Mkhize also claims he was approached by a sheriff in 2021 with a summons from a service provider owed money for a Cape Town venue booked for a show.
When he raised this with Hlongwane, he said he was told ”in a very casual manner that the corporation did not have any money”. Shortly thereafter, payments towards Mkhize’s life insurance policies and medical aid allegedly stopped, causing the policies to lapse.
“I sent several messages to Mr Hlongwane and spoke to him on multiple occasions seeking to understand how we ended up in this dire financial position. As at the date of this affidavit, I have not received a sensible explanation,” he said.
Mkhize also submitted a signed document from a meeting on August 22 2022, authorising Hlongwane to sign financial statements, management accounts and Sars tax returns on behalf of the directors.
However, he disputes the authenticity of the document, stating under oath that he could not have signed the resolution as he was undergoing surgery on that date. He has submitted medical records in support of this claim and alleges the document is fraudulent.
He added that he has since opened a case against Hlongwane at Edenvale police station.
Responding on behalf of both himself and Namba, Hlongwane asked the Sunday Times for time to “process the whole situation, as it is with our lawyers”.
“We will let you guys know when the process is finalised. Mr Namba and I have been advised by our legal team not to make any comments,” he said.
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