WeeklySA_AdminDESPONDENT: People’s Poet blames lack of support from the DTI in fight against counterfeit goods and fake CDs
By Ali Mphaki
Time may have erased the memory of the first Operation Dudula way back in the late 90s to the 2000s, ostensibly to fight against the rampant music piracy and counterfeit goods in the country.
The rolling mass action, unlike its latest namesake led by Nhlanhla Lux, among others, was birthed after the discovery of five different CD covers of then best-selling Loliwe album by Afro-sensation Zahara, which sparked a hornet’s nest.
It was apparent music piracy syndicates had adopted brazen new strategies in terms of branding and marketing, which could only spell a death-knell for artist’s earnings and their general well-being.
CEO of TS Records TK Nciza, the record label producing Zahara’s album, also received death threats. Leadership was needed and a group of artists, instead of throwing their hands in the air, bandied together to launch a campaign to try curb the scourge of music piracy.
Artists had to think outside the boxers, with the likes of the late Durban-based Vusi Ximba deciding to distribute their music cassettes exclusively in the colour pink, so as to ensure his fans were buying the real deal.
People’s Poet Mzwakhe Mbuli became the campaign’s face, led the charge and went gung-ho!
Taking on his new anti-piracy crusader role with the ferocity of a tiger crushing a bone, Mbuli would criss-cross the length and breadth of the country spreading the message and mobilizing artists and the public to fight against music piracy and counterfeit goods.
With his comrades they even composed an anti-piracy song….
In his various meetings with artists, heart wrenching tales of a dispirited bunch was his daily diet, with most saying they’d rather quit the trade than have their hard work pirated and sold on street corners and or pavements.
In Durban, for instance, several artists arrested including Phuzekhemisi when a raid led to altercations with some of the suspected fake CD street sellers. In another incident in Mthata, a group of Chinese suspected fake CD manufacturers allegedly assaulted singer Sanda Mgcina during one of the raids.
As if it were not enough, the late crooner Vuyo Mokoena nearly shot when Operation Dudula raided…
Quoted in 2015 in a local newspaper in 2015, a bullish Mbuli had declared:
“We are going to unleash a total onslaught and leave no stone unturned in our fight against music piracy.
“These crime syndicates will be forced to abandon their nefarious deeds and run.”
More importantly, he added: “We will defeat piracy in the same way we defeated apartheid.”
For an update on what happened to what was a promising initiative, Weekly SA Mirror met with its leader Mbuli this week.
It is not often Mbuli would speak in a hush tone, but there was clearly a tinge of sadness in his voice – like that of a defeated man. “We gave it our all, but it was not sustainable,” he says.
“In Jeppe for instance, our raids would result in the police truck full of suspects, but the following day all those who were arrested would be back in the streets continuing with their business as usual.
“I am convinced there was (is) some serious corruption going on there,” he says. More damningly, Mbuli says they felt betrayed by the Department of Trade and Industry, DTI, which was supposed to be spearheading such campaigns but…
“Don’t forget I went all out and I did not have a sponsor. “The police and DTI personnel draw a salary every month end but for us to continue the fight without any material support was always a challenge.
“But for all it’s worth, we did make an impact.
“We may have lost the battle, but not the war,” he says his voice rising to a crescendo.
Meanwhile, Captain Xoli Mbele of the SAPS in a statement police in conjunction with Custom Services, Brand Protectors, EMS, HELP 24, South African Pharmaceutical Regulator, American Homeland Investigators (USA Embassy) South Africa, Fedility Reaction Unity, BCI Security and POPS visited Pan Africa Mall and Joburg Mall corner Jeppe and Troye Street on Wednesday where they confiscated fabrics and consumer goods.
She said they confiscated large quantities of skin creams and other pharmaceutical products that can only be obtain through a script. Suspects have violated Medicine Related Substances Act 101 of 1965.
Five suspects, between the ages of 22 to 37, were apprehended for possession and dealing in counterfeit goods.
Attempts to obtain comment from Bongani Lukhele the DTI’s head of communications drew a blank Data sourced from MUSO Discover analytics platform, shows that music piracy declined consistently year-on-year from January 2017 until the second half of 2020. But it gradually started to increase across 2021.
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