by Thinus Ferreira
The veteran South African TV and film producer Duma Ndlovu (69) appeared in court on Tuesday after being charged with tax evasion of over R25 million.
He was granted R100 000 bail.
Duma ka Ndlovu first tried to ban the media from the court while his lawyer unsuccessfully pleaded with the court not to have the media present for the court proceedings.
Duma Ndlovu is the producer through Word of Mouth Pictures of the Venda soap Muvhango on SABC2, as well as Queen Modjadji through Rhythm World Productions for MultiChoice and M-Net's Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) channel on DStv.
Rhythm World Productions also produced a litany of other shows for Mzansi Magic like Umkhokha, eHostela, Komkhulu, My Brother's Keeper as well as the current Sibongile and the Dlaminis, and co-produced Imbewu: The Seed for eMedia's e.tv.
Dumakude "Duma" Ndlovu appeared in the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Palm Ridge this afternoon on tax evasion charges spanning multiple years, together with his co-accused tax practitioners Rodney Mutsharini and Maxwell Mloyi.
According to the tax evasion charge sheet, Duma Ndlovu owes the South African Revenue Service (SARS) over R25 717 680.44 as a result of "undeclared personal income tax, corporate income tax and VAT".
For the tax return four years of 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 and its financial assessment, SARS says Duma Ndlovu's misrepresentations led to more than R19.2 million in losses for SARS.
Duma Ndlovu told the court that he owes SARS R234 000.
Duma Ndlovu's bail conditions include that he must not have any contact with any state witnesses, must report to the Sandton police station weekly on a Monday or Wednesday, and must hand in his passport.
Rodney Mutsharini and Maxwell Mloyi were granted bail of R50 000 each.
If Duma Ndlovu is found guilty, the state wants him and his co-accused to be imprisoned for no longer than two years or fined.
