Grammy Award-winning artist Nomcebo Zikode has lost her legal battle against Open Mic Productions.
Adding to the blow, the court has ordered Zikode to deliver two more albums to Open Mic before she can be released from her contract.
This ruling was outlined in a Gauteng High Court judgment delivered on 9 May.
Zikode and Open Mic have been involved in a legal dispute since 2022.
The court noted that the main issue at the heart of their conflict was the ownership of the hit song Jerusalema—specifically whether it was co-written by Zikode and Kgaogelo “Master KG” Moagi or solely by Moagi.
However, the court was not asked to decide on the Jerusalema ownership dispute. Instead, Zikode’s case focused on the song Bayethe, which earned her a Grammy Award.
She requested that the court require Open Mic to fulfill its accounting obligations, including providing details on income from synchronization of sound recordings, bookings, brand endorsements, physical sales of Jerusalema, and the royalties received by Master KG.
On 15 December 2022, Zikode and Open Mic reached a settlement, which was subsequently made a court order.
The settlement agreement states, in part: “The parties have agreed that Nomcebo Nkwanyana, through her company Emazulwini Productions, will enter into a 50/50 joint venture agreement within sixty (60) days of the effective date of this agreement concerning future recordings. These future recordings will be released by the joint venture via Africori. Both parties agree that Africori will act as a conduit to facilitate their interactions.”
Nearly a year later, Zikode returned to court, claiming that Open Mic had failed to meet its accounting obligations.
She argued that the joint venture agreement with Open Mic was not legally binding and that she no longer wished to be bound by it.
Her request was denied. The court stated: “The Honourable Court accepts that Open Mic has provided all the information it was required to share. A link to access Open Mic’s accounting records was sent to the applicants, and information regarding the synchronization of sound recordings was included in the answering affidavit.
“Zikode agreed to enter into a 50/50 joint venture. This Court cannot declare that she is not bound by the agreement she willingly made. Doing so would contradict the constitutionally valid common law principle that agreements must be honored.”
Lionel Jamela, head of Open Mic Productions, said he always believed they would win the case.
“I made Nomcebo. Today, she’s a millionaire because of the investment I put into her. Unfortunately, she had other plans—she tried to steal the Jerusalema song but failed.
“When I met her, no one believed in her, but I took her under my wing and turned her into an international brand. I built her career and spent millions, but she turned against me.
“Despite the lawsuit, she still owes me two albums before she can do as she pleases. If not, she risks being held in contempt of court. I don’t want just any albums; I want commercial releases. The first album should come out in 2026, the second in 2027. She needs to focus—we’ve got work to do.
“I will also be conducting a full audit to determine how much she owes me.”
Requests for comment were sent to Zikode, but she had not responded by the time of publication.