By Mojalefa Mashego
Brenda Fassie blew more than R10-million in the past nine years. This amount was paid to her between July 1995 and February this year, according to financial records in the possession of The Star. One payment was for R719 000.
Sello "Chicco" Twala - the pop diva's producer during the most successful period of her career, when she churned out hit after hit - said on Thursday he believed Fassie could have made well over R30-million in her 21-year recording career.
However, since her death at the Sunninghill Hospital in Sandton on May 9, donations have been sought to cover her medical bills and funeral costs, suggesting she died broke. Funds were raised in the form of a prayer line, since turned into a condolences line.
A source close to Fassie revealed that a trust fund, set up soon after she was hospitalised, had raised about R250 000 by Wednesday.
In a bid to stop her drug habit and save herself, Fassie checked in at rehabilitation centres 30 times - at a cost of about R300 000, according to Twala.
More money went down the drain when she wrote off six cars, including a Mitsubishi Pajero worth R300 000 and a R280 000 BMW convertible. The Pajero, which is believed to have been taken by druglords, disappeared without trace.
Her latest car, a Land-Rover worth R180 000, is currently at a Johannesburg dealer, and payment of R39 000 has to be made for its release.
In fact, Twala said, in addition to the cash payment for the Land-Rover, R300 000 was spent on repairing the luxury 4x4.
"The car was fixed more than 10 times at a cost of more than R20 000 at a time. This already tells you how reckless Brenda was with money," the music producer said.
Twala told The Star that the singer had been extravagant and always splashed out thousands of rands on friends, hangers-on and druglords.
"Brenda was her own person. She was wasting money like it was going out of fashion. In fact, the people to blame are the druglords, who always followed her around," he lamented, saying that each time he had to give her money, it had to be at least R15 000.
Twala remembered one incident last year when he had to give Fassie R20 000 at about 3am one morning. "She came to my house and spoke through my intercom with a loudspeaker. She had threatened to make a noise and disturb my neighbours if I didn't give her the money. She told me she was driving to Lesotho with some friends."
Twala, who said he felt compelled to give her money on demand "because it is hers, after all", received three cheques in his name, amounting to R2,5-million, for disbursement to Fassie. The cheques, for R850 000, R657 000 and R550 000, were made out in Twala's name on November 19 1999, December 20, 1999 and November 20 2000.
"If I had not received the money on her behalf, she probably would not have had a house today," said Twala, referring to her home in Buccleuch, Sandton, which he bought for R400 000.
"Brenda was living a fast life, staying in hotels and spending money on drugs, alcohol and friends. The druglords made a killing with Brenda. They are the ones to be blamed for the millions she spent recklessly," said Twala.
In a bid to safeguard royalties from Fassie's recordings, music lawyer Mark Rosin has been asked to set up a trust that will administer future earnings for her son, Bongani.
Rosin said his brief would apply only from the time of Fassie's death and not the period covering her entire career. "I have been approached by the family and her manager, Peter Snyman, to set up a trust fund for the boy. I will be speaking to her record company (EMI/CCP) as soon we have put the trustees together," said Rosin.
"Our brief will only cover the period from this month and not from the time she began singing, as has been reported in the media.''
Twala said he believed Fassie would make much more money after her death than she ever would have made while alive.