Simphiwe Dana (@simphiwedana ) planinng to use Dali Mpofu (@AdvDali_Mpofu) After Tbo Touch (@iamtbotouch ) let us all down in the #DataMustFall fight, we might soon have a new celeb taking up our cause.
After raking up a data bill of R63,000 in a space of two months, musician and activist Simphiwe Dana is fuming and is preparing to take service providers to court to make sure data prices drop.
Simphiwe recently got a bill for R35,000 after her mobile provider kept charging her for data without notifying her that her "limit" had been reached. They sorted it out but when it happened again the next month, at a cost of R28,000, she was gatvol.
Our new data Avenger told TshisaLIVE that she approached advocate Dali Mpofu to possibly represent her and others in a class action lawsuit against data providers.
"I asked him how it works. He said that if we have enough people, which I found out is 40, with similar complaints to mine we can go ahead with it. I am looking for those people now. I have asked them to DM me their cases and we will fight it together. I am taking it slow but Dali seems keen to get involved and I don't mind if he and the EFF take up the fight."
She said that something needed to be done to stop data robbing the poor even more.
"I don't know of any other country where this would happen. Data should be a basic human right. It is elitist, criminal and anti-poor. It is time that something is done. It is unjustifiable."
Data is not the only thing that Simphiwe is passionate about. She also wants to put women in the spotlight and will bring together a 13-piece all-female band for her performance at the Cape Town Jazz Festival later this month.
"There are so few female instrumentalists in our industry and those who are there are underutilised. I want to put a spotlight on how talented these women are. Plus, women look really good on stage."
