A dispute over R1 500 has ended the bromance between former tabloid journalist Zakhele Shiba and former 999 Music manager Brian Mokoena.
Africa Daily can exclusively reveal that Shiba and Mokoena are no longer seeing eye-to-eye after a payment dispute linked to a voter education project commissioned by the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL).
Speaking to Africa Daily, Shiba claims that on 27 April 2026, Mokoena approached him to prepare a press release connected to the project, which was funded by the legislature, and agreed to pay him R1 500 for the work.
Shiba says he accepted the assignment, completed the work and expected to be paid as agreed.
But according to the former Sunday Sun news editor, the payment did not come when expected.
Shiba claims Mokoena told him that he would settle the R1 500 after receiving the second tranche of payment for the project.
The situation allegedly became more frustrating when, according to Shiba, Mokoena received the second payment but still did not immediately pay him.
Repeated calls and messages allegedly followed, with Shiba seeking answers about when he would receive his money.
Eventually, the dispute reached a point where Shiba allegedly warned Mokoena that he would approach the GPL and raise questions about the arrangement under which he had been engaged to perform the work.
It was after this threat to escalate the matter that Mokoena eventually paid the outstanding R1 500, according to Shiba.
But while the money has now reportedly been paid, the relationship between the two men appears to have suffered serious damage.
For Shiba, the issue was no longer simply about the R1 500, but about how the matter was handled between two people who had previously been friends.
Questions were put to Mokoena about whether he had agreed to pay Shiba R1 500 on 27 April, whether Shiba had completed the work requested of him and why the payment was allegedly delayed.
He was also asked whether he had received the second tranche of payment before settling Shiba’s money and whether he only paid after Shiba threatened to report the matter to the GPL.
Mokoena was further asked why Shiba’s calls and messages allegedly went unanswered and whether he believed the arrangement with Shiba was properly authorised under the GPL voter education project.
At the time of publication, Mokoena had not responded to the questions put to him.
The unanswered questions do not end there.
Was the GPL aware that Shiba had been engaged to perform work connected to the voter education programme? Was Mokoena authorised to enter into such an arrangement? And was the payment to Shiba part of an approved project arrangement or a private agreement between the two men?
The GPL is being approached for answers to these questions.
Musician Chicco Twala, who reportedly worked with Mokoena on the project, will also be asked about the nature of their working relationship and whether Mokoena had been paid for the work undertaken.
For now, the R1 500 has reportedly changed hands, but the friendship that existed before the dispute appears to have paid the bigger price.
What remains unresolved is not the amount itself, but why a relatively small payment allegedly took months, repeated requests and the threat of escalation before it was eventually settled.
