Mahmoud Jay Letsie 

DJ Shimza fired with immediate effect from Kunye Records but headlines Kunye Fest DJ Shimza, real name Ashley Kholofelo Raphala, headlined his Kunye Jozi XI event at Huddle Park in Johannesburg on Saturday night, 7 November, despite reports his removal as a director of Kunye Records over allegations of financial misconduct. Kunye Records and the Kunye music events are closely associated with the internationally acclaimed DJ. Kunye Records is the company at the centre of the corporate dispute, while Kunye Jozi XI is part of the music event series organised under the Kunye Together brand owned by Shimza. Shimza and his co-director, Jarrad Evan Treger, were removed from Kunye Records following an application by fellow shareholder Hannes Hoffmeister, who according to a report by Africa Daily, accused them of financial misconduct, unauthorised payments and conflicts of interest. Court papers detail allegations that Shimza failed to disclose his interest in Just Exists (Pty) Ltd, which received R752 000 from Kunye Records between 2022 and 2024. Other transactions involving his company, Shimuzic, were also questioned. Some of the payments mentioned by Hoffmeister included R300 000 on 31 July 2022 for sponsorship of SOL PTA in July 2022, R120 000 on 1 February 2023 for a Standard Bank sponsorship of a Kunye Johannesburg event, R300 000 on 3 March 2023 for a SOL/Heineken sponsorship of a Kunye Johannesburg event and R32 000 on 1 March 2023 for a KwaZulu-Natal sponsorship in April 2023. Hoffmeister further alleges on 2 April 2024, Strongbow paid Kunye R540 000 which was transferred to Just Exists the following day under the reference "Just Exist Refund", despite no refund being due and without board approval. He alleges that a separate payment of R185 000 was made by Kunye Records to DJ Shimza's entity Shimuzic on 1 August 2023, despite the transaction not having board approval and the expense not being related to supporting the company's events. Hoffmeister also said several payments were made to Shimza's personal tour manager, known as "Lets Push" or "Stuff" without board approval. Further payments were made to "Zito", identified as Shimza's personal photographer. He accuses Shimza of establishing two brands, U'R and Shimza & Friends, which competed directly with Kunye by targeting the same audience, booking similar artists and hosting events in other South African cities. The Companies Tribunal ruled on 20 August 2026 that Shimza and Treger be removed as directors of Kunye Records with immediate effect. However, Shimza and Treger have approached the Western Cape High Court to challenge the decision, arguing that they were not given a proper opportunity to respond to the allegations. Meanwhile, Saturday's Kunye Jozi XI event went ahead at Huddle Park, with Shimza on the line-up alongside international DJ Francis Mercier and South African house veteran DJ Kent. buzzlifenews.com