Kwaito king Arthur Mafokate has been implicated in the SABC radio music compilers' payola payment scandal that has the potential to send him to jail.
Sunday World can exclusively reveal that Mafokate was fingered in an internal forensic report commissioned by SABC Group Executive for Corporate Affairs Hlaudi Motsoeneng.
Motsoeneng, who was then COO of the public broadcaster, commissioned the probe after receiving complaints from artists, including Mafokate himself, that the compilers were not playing their music after they bribed them to do so.
The Kaffir hit-maker asked us to e-mail him written questions on Friday but had not responded to them at the time of going to press.
Motsoeneng confirmed the 999 Music boss was implicated in the report.
He said he would dismiss all the compilers implicated in the bribery scandal and later decide on the fate of Mafokate, who is producing and hosting SABC3 TV show A Date With Arthur.
"The whistle-blowers are also complicit, and, as you know that corruption is two-ways, there will be action taken against them.
"We are still deciding on what to do about them as some are service providers at the SABC," said Motsoeneng.
The controversial SABC executive said his decision to dismiss those implicated in the report should not be interpreted as a witch-hunt.
"I'm not chasing people away. I'm chasing corruption out of the SABC. I'm here at the SABC to love people. When you do wrong things, you must be punished," he said.
Motsoeneng said he sanctioned the probe because he took the corruption and bribery allegations seriously.
"Some of the people who complained are record label owners who used to pay our staff money to play their music. I received the report last week and we are still going through it," he said.
Motsoeneng also hinted that Mafokate was one of the artists who complained about the bribery and corruption involving the compilers.
"The whistle-blowers were complicit in the bribery scandal as they all confessed that they used to give money to music compilers so they can play their music on air.
"What I detected from the report is that the problem started when they (compilers) started not playing their music.
"That's when they ran to us to complain," he said.
Motsoeneng added that the investigation was also prompted by allegations that Mafokate organised a music workshop mid-last year and, without SABC authorisation, paid accommodation and transport for the broadcasters's regional compilers.
"It was alleged in the complaints that at the same workshop issues of favours were discussed, and, worse, the organisers of the workshop paid for transport and accommodation of the staff coming from the regions, of which that should have been covered by the SABC. That's if the workshop was a legitimate one," he sai
