A member of the iconic South African music group Malaika, Bongani Nchang spoke candidly about the impact of his long-standing feud with former colleague Matshediso “Tshedi” Mholo.
The dispute between the two stars spans more than 13 years, with both parties locked in a battle over Malaika’s legacy.
Nchang had remained silent until their sit-down on Podcast & Chill, which saw Mholo asking him to stop operating under their group name since the original members, the late Jabulani Ndaba and herself, were not involved in his new musical ventures.
Their dispute has them nominated at the 16th Feather Awards under the Drama Queen category.
“Putting aside the category, the fact that one is still relevant to this day and we haven’t released anything in a long time means people still have love for us, regardless of the category. There’s no such thing as bad publicity,” he told the publication.
Nchang said their butting heads with Mholo caused cyberbullying.
“It really has been hectic. My former colleague has been on my case for 13 years and I hadn’t said or responded to any of the accusations. With this one, I made an exception because it affected my family.”
“I got to experience cyberbullying first-hand. It was bad. It’s not a good thing to wake up every day to someone saying something bad about you, even after I have given them facts.”
The singer said he looked to God and his family when he was experiencing backlash on social media.
“My support system, family, wife, kids, mothers, sisters and all would call and encourage me. You always hear people talk about it [cyberbullying] and how it affects them and when you haven’t experienced something before, the moment you do, nothing prepares you for it emotionally. One of the things that I did was pray.”
Tshedi has previously taken to her timeline to express she is consulting her legal team.
Nchang said he had not received any letters from her lawyers but was ready for whatever she would bring forward.
“I gave my facts. A person cannot claim where they didn’t work. The only thing I desire is for her to stop talking bad about my name, it’s not good.”
Beyond the drama, Nchang said there are exciting time that lay ahead of him and the new member of Malaika.
“We are about to finish in studio. The album is coming up good.”