Share

Zahara could face jail time

accreditation
Singer Zahara
Singer Zahara

Singer and songwriter Zahara recently found herself on the wrong side of the law.

The talented artist, whose real name is Bulelwa Mkutukana, failed to appear in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court and she was found guilty of being in contempt of court.

Daily Sun has learnt Zahara failed to appear in court after several summons in April, and the court issued a warrant for her arrest on that same day and but she only appeared in court on 7 June 2021.

According to NPA spokeswoman Phindi Mjonondwane, the singer who is set to release an album this month is charged in her personal capacity as well as a representative of her company, Zahara Trading (Pty) Ltd.

She faces charges relating to the non-submission of personal and company income-tax returns to Sars.

Mjonondwane said the state prosecutor, Nerissa Reddy from the Johannesburg Specialised Tax Unit, argued the singer’s reasons for not appearing in court were highly unreasonable.

“Mkutukana only appeared in court when the commercial crimes investigators, Warrant Officer Pillay and Constable Tumber, began to trace her whereabouts,” she said.

ALSO READ |  SGAQAGAQA LEAVING THE QUEEN WAS HARD!

According to Mjonondwane, the state argued her celebrity status didn’t give her impunity from facing justice.

“Justice should be meted out equally, as everyone is equal in the eyes of the law and should be treated as such,” she said.

Mjonondwane said the magistrate found Zahara’s reasons for not appearing in court unreasonable and found her guilty. She was issued a fine of R1 500 or three-months imprisonment.

According to the NPA, her next court appearance date is on 25 June 2021 and the matter was postponed for disclosure of the contents of the docket to her legal representative.

The NPA further revealed that Zahara’s bail conditions were that she must hand in her passport to the commercial crimes’ officers within 24 hours and to report to the Roodepoort Police Station on Tuesdays and Thursdays, between 8am and 6pm.

The People’s Paper reached out to Zahara for a comment, but her phone rang unanswered. The SunTeam further contacted her manager from Warner Music South Africa, Eric Gyimah, who said they were not commenting on the matter.

Get the best in Soccer, News and Lifestyle content with SNL24 PLUS
For 14 free days, you can have access to the best from Soccer Laduma, KickOff, Daily Sun, TrueLove and Drum. Thereafter you will be billed R29 per month. You can cancel anytime and if you cancel within 14 days you won't be billed.
Subscribe to SNL24 PLUS
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
What do you value most personally?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Earning tons of money
15% - 2 votes
Career Progression
8% - 1 votes
Work-Life balance
77% - 10 votes
Vote
Let us know what you think

Contact the People’s Paper with feedback on stories and how we could make dailysun.co.za even better!

Learn more
Do you have a story for the People’s Paper?

Click below to contact our news desk and share your story with SunLand!

Let's do it!