Johannesburg - A Soweto-based technology company, Information Literacy Arts Booth (ILAB), and Yvonne Chaka Chaka’s daughter-in-law and Lufi-D founder, Fortunate Nkateko Khoza, are in a dispute over Khoza’s alleged non-payment for IT services rendered to her company.
Sibusiso Theodore Sibeko of ILAB told The Star last week that the company he runs with his girlfriend, Thato Moteka, approached Khoza in last August to offer their services after the businesswoman’s Instagram account was hacked.
In the email – seen by The Star – from August 21, the couple proposed ideas on how to unhack Khoza’s account, and sent her a quote for about R50 000 for their services.
Khoza, in response to The Star’s media enquiry, however, alleged in a letter from her attorney, Mokgatle R Mokgatle, that ILAB failed to meet its obligations in respect of the quotation provided.
Sibeko said halfway through the company’s device security work, Khoza requested that the couple also help her develop and design a website for her traditional clothing brand.
“A lot of work was put into it and her launch was going to be in between, but halfway through we realised that we did not have enough time before the launch, and that she had not sent everything that was required before the launch,” he said.
In an email sent to Khoza on September 2, the couple said that they planned to show her a working draft of the website by September 4, however, there were delays in receiving important information for the website.
The couple added another quote for about R75 500 and said they were ready to start a campaign to regain followers and that the website would only go live once they received full payment.
Despite the delays for the website, the couple said they attended the launch of the Lufi Boutique Salon & Day Spa in Rosebank. However, the situation turned sour when ILAB asked about payment and were told the businesswoman was waiting for funding from the Sector Education and Training Authorities.
“We filled out her questionnaire with the things that were required to get the funding, and then she went silent. She came back and said she did not have the money to pay us,” Sibeko said.
Following this, the couple went and found a lawyer from Siphephelo Buthelezi Attorneys, who sent a letter of demand to Khoza on October 20 demanding the payment of R73 729, before he withdrew from the case.
“On or about August 23 last year, an amount of R30 000.00 had been received from you in respect of the website design and development. No further payments were received from you in respect of the services rendered, therefore the total amount outstanding is R73 729.21,” the lawyer wrote.
Khoza, however, alleged that ILAB did not invoice her for the additional work and did not provide her with the “final works” to be signed off prior to the remaining balance falling sdue.
“Your client is therefore in breach of the terms of the agreement and our client reserves its right to bring a counterclaim directing that our client be refunded the R30 000.00 for your client’s lack of services as per the quotation and agreement,” Mokgatle wrote.
Khoza, through Mokgatle, added that she rejected and dismissed the allegation that she requested an online campaign and alleged that ILAB offered to create the campaign out of its own will and allegedly proceeded to do so without her client’s consent or confirmation.
“The claims of your client in your letter under reply are rejected,” the lawyer wrote.
While the two parties’ lawyers were exchanging letters, a website for Lufi-D was launched, but it was not developed by ILAB.
“We believe that they fraudulently used our credentials, information, reports and hard work to get funding and then did not pay us. They paid their friends that they wanted to use initially,” he claimed.
He added that ILAB disputed Khoza’s claims that they had failed to meet their obligations.
“How could we have completed the website when you did not give us everything that was required for the website in time?” Sibeko asked.
The Star