On September 6, veteran penny whistler Elias Shamber Lerole celebrated his 85th birthday and, in paying tribute to him, his musician son, Tebogo “Edward Billion” Lerole, took to Instagram to share his well wishes for his father.
In several Instagram posts, Tebogo celebrated his father’s wonderful achievements as an artist. While he toasted to his legendary father, he also made a shocking claim pertaining to Grammy award-winning Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
In a post, he shared a picture of members of the group Black Mambazo, which he said was formed in 1954. He then went on to suggest that the name “Black Mambazo” does not belong to Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
“Formed in 1954 Black Mambazo (Elias Shamber Lerole, Big Voice Jack Lerole, Zephaniah Nkabinde, David Ramosa, Piet Khumalo and Bra Chicks). @ladysmithblackmambazo60 the name Black Mambazo does not belong to you nor the late Joseph Tshabalala,” he wrote.
In a separate post, he questioned how Ladysmith Black Mambazo owned the name Black Mambazo when the name “belonged to my father’s band Black Mambazo not Ladysmith Black Mambazo“.
“Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God,” he quoted in one post.
One of Tebogo’s followers, @chle_zik responded to the comment and enquired about the outcome the musician was looking for following the claims.
In his response, he made it clear that he wasn’t doing this for likes, attention or money.
“It’s been an ongoing battle for many years and some day the truth will suffice, I only hope that my father will still be alive to witness the truth.
“It was never about ransacking the @ladysmithblackmambazo60 bank account, let it be known clearly that we are not after their money or earnings. It’s about the truth and that’s that,” he wrote.
Tebogo explained in a different post that for years the Black Mambazo have fought for the Black Mambazo name to be reinstated and the late Joseph Tshabalala was aware of the claims.
“All my father seeks is the truth before he passes on, the name belonged to him/his band and why was it taken without his consultation,” he wrote.
The musician also expressed that he was simply a son fighting for his father.
“You disliking me has nothing to do with the expression I made, I am just a son fighting for his own father and I am sure all of you here would do the same for your fathers,” he wrote.
Tebogo also said that the Grammy award-winning group was tagged on the post and if the accusation was false they would comment.
“If my father is lying @ladysmithblackmambazo60 is tagged and some of the old members are still alive and I am sure they will comment if this is a false accusation against them,” he wrote.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo has not publicly addressed Tebogo's claim. IOL Entertainment has reached out to them and a comment has not yet been received.