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Musician Tocky Vibes caused a stir in South Africa over the weekend after he allegedly hid in a fridge at a show to evade arrest.
The Harare musician, born Obey Makamure, is allegedly wanted in South Africa for fraud, having duped music promoter Royce Mapaike. He now risks getting in jail for fraud and evading arrest when he enters the neighbouring country.
Mapaike told H-Metro the details of the fraud case: “We had agreed as planned, and I paid for his flights, accommodation and video shoots. In return, he was supposed to offer us two shows as part of the deal. He and his management then started ducking and diving after I spent almost R30 000. I had no option but to take the matter to the police at Brixton Police Station after they started ignoring my calls and blocking me.”
Mapaike got wind of the news that Tocky had two shows in Johannesburg over the weekend, and he informed the South African Police Service. They went to his show at Club Rampage in Kempton Park on 16 August to execute the arrest there.
On getting to the club, the cops negotiated with Tocky for him to perform for an hour before they could arrest him, sources told H-Metro. However, Tocky was too smart for them, and he slipped away:
“Mapurisa acho anga akapusa, Tocky was hidden in a cold room, and when they looked for him, they could not find him until they left,” the source narrated.
Mapaike was determined to get Tocky Vibes behind bars. On Saturday,17 August, in the morning, he went with the police to the guest house where Tocky was staying. The musician had a performance at Alicats Pub in Randburg in the evening.
The club owner roped in a lawyer, who negotiated that they deal with the issue Sunday around lunchtime. However, as the police waited Sunday morning, Tocky was already on a flight to Harare, touching down in Zimbabwe that afternoon.
Mapaike rued: “It is very unfortunate that Tocky decided to run away, but the long arm of the law will eventually catch up with him. His passport has now been flagged, and if he decides to come to South Africa, he will get arrested at any port of entry, whether airport or via Beitbridge.”
A source from Tocky Vibes’ camp disregarded Royce Mapaike:
“That guy Royce is very dishonest. He took other promoters’ money trying to cash in on Tocky. He paid just $500 and wanted to use gate takings as part of the deal. It doesn’t work that way. Tocky is very professional and would never breach an arrangement. The video shoots that he is talking about he didn’t have the money and did not even pay the models that featured on those videos. Tocky himself had to pay part of the videographer’s fees.” (H Metro/ iharare.com)
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