South Africa’s podcasting czars, MacG, Sol Phenduka and Ghost Lady, have allegedly placed the lives of Homecoming Events owners at risk after publicly accusing them of covering up an incident in which a woman was raped by a popular DJ at one of their events held in Sun City.
The startling details were revealed by the entity’s bosses, Oratile Sangweni and Athabile Ngxamngxa, in the defamation lawsuit papers they filed against the three podcasters in the Johannesburg High Court about two weeks ago.
In the papers, which Africa Daily has seen, Sangweni and Ngxamngxa said they have been receiving threats from members of the public who were angered by their alleged decision to defeat the ends of justice.
Sangweni, Ngxamngxa and Homecoming Events are cited as the first, second and third applicants, respectively.
“The applicants have been subjected to abuse and accused of enabling rape by members of the public. The first and second applicants have received threats from certain sections of the public arising directly from these allegations,” read the papers.
Sangweni and Ngxamngxa also said that not only had they received threats from certain quarters of the public as a result of the “false” allegations, but they were also unable to enforce discipline at their company.
“As directors of the third applicant, the first and second applicants are unable to enforce discipline at the workplace because of these allegations.
“It is in the public interest that a person holding an office similar to that of the applicants should be free from blemish, especially allegations of protecting rapists. If the allegations are false, it is in the public interest that they should be addressed without delay to preserve the integrity of the business, which employs and creates employment opportunities for a lot of people,” they said.
What compounded the conundrum, according to the applicants, is that MacG, Sol Phenduka and Ghost Lady have ghosted their lawyers’ letter of demand calling on them to retract the allegations.
“There is ongoing harm – the statements are being repeated and the respondents have no intention of retracting them or refraining from repeating them. If the allegations are false, it is in the public interest that they should be addressed without delay to preserve the integrity of the business, which employs and creates employment opportunities for a lot of people,” they said in the papers.
Sangweni and Ngxamngxa added that if the allegations are true, they would cause untold damage to the public’s confidence in the company.
“The converse also applies: if the statements are true, that would significantly impact public confidence in the events the applicants hold for the public,” they maintained.
They further said that MacG, Sol Phenduka and Ghost Lady have not only refused to retract and apologise for the “false” allegations, but have also repeated them even after receiving a letter of demand from their lawyers to refrain from doing so.
“The respondents have been obdurate in their refusal. In fact, they have repeated the statements. The repetition evidences malicious intent,” they said.
Sangweni and Ngxamngxa are seeking an urgent order compelling the trio to publicly apologise and retract the “false allegations”.
In their papers, the two stated that during a Podcast and Chill episode titled Blue Mbombo Drama | Simphiwe Dana, Alostro? SweetGuluva DNA Drama! | Bafana Bafana Visa Crisis, the podcasters alleged that a woman was raped by a prominent celebrity during one of their events.
They further alleged that the impresarios had covered up the incident because it had the potential to damage the event’s image.
They argued that the statements, which were made during the episode broadcast on or about 1 June 2026, were false, unsubstantiated and highly defamatory.
They said the comments created the impression that Homecoming Events and its representatives were aware of a rape allegation involving a prominent celebrity and had deliberately attempted to suppress it in order to protect the company’s commercial interests.
They added that the allegations were capable of causing severe reputational damage, potentially resulting in sponsors withdrawing support, artists distancing themselves from the company, declining ticket sales and difficulties in maintaining venue partnerships.
MacG and Podcast and Chill chief executive officer Bala Dama asked Africa Daily to send written questions. However, he had not responded to them at the time of publication.
Homecoming Events lawyer Tarryn Martin of Webber Wentzel Attorneys said they would not comment because the matter is before the court.