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Mbombela - National chairperson of the Anti-piracy campaign, Mzwakhe Mbuli, accuses crooked cops of encouraging people to buy and sell fake CDs because they also buy them.
“The state is doing nothing to protect us from the illegal selling of our work. Instead, police are found in full state uniform buying fake CDs from the suspects,” said Mbuli.
He said artists were starving while pirates made millions on the streets with the support of the police.
He said the public should think about the hard-working artists before attempting to buy fake CDs and DVDs.
“Any person who claims to love my music or that of any artist, but still continues to buy fake music is a snake. That person is heartless,” said a fuming Mbuli.
Mbuli said that in August, he and other artists will launch a controversial campaign called Shoot the Pirate.
“I want to see if I'm going to be brought to court by singing a song called 'shoot the pirate', as they did with (ANCYL leader) Julius Malema,” he said.
Controversy
Mbuli is no stranger to controversy.
The poet was convicted for armed robbery and possession of a hand grenade in 1999 and was released in 2003. Mbuli has constantly denied having ever committed the crimes.
Ray Phiri, co-founder of legendary group Stimela, said although an anti-piracy campaign had been launched nationally, it should be vigorously implemented in all the provinces.
“People who buy fake music are crippling the families of the musicians and that discourages emerging artists from entering the industry. It also hits bad on the country's economy as artists are paying tax, but the aliens don't pay tax,” said Phiri.
Spokesperson of the department of trade and industry, Bongani Lukhele, said anti-piracy campaigns have been launched in the Free State, the Western Cape and Gauteng.
“We are speeding up the process to have all provinces involved in the campaigns,” said Lukhele.
Under their noses
In Mpumalanga, pirates brazenly sell their wares over the street from the police station.
Mpumalanga police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Leonard Hlathi told African Eye News Service (AENS) that police conducted raids 33 times since March this year, but arrested only six people.
When asked how police could have failed to make arrests when the illegal trade takes place right across the street from Nelspruit police station, Hlathi said the illegal traders always outrun cops.
“Arresting the suspects usually proves fruitless as the suspects run away and leave their stuff, including the fake CDs, DVDs and their TVs. However, we have managed to arrest six suspects, including a police reservist for accepting a bribe and buying pirated CDs,” he said.
Hlathi said since March police had confiscated 4 204 fake CDs and DVDs worth R70 427 in the city centre.
He said that the fake CDs and DVDs were destroyed while the TVs, which are used to screen the fake DVDs in the city centre, were auctioned.
Hlathi said the police reservist, Constable Themba Siyenga, from the Nelspruit police station, had already been suspended from service.
The Creative Workers Union of South Africa (CWUSA) in Mpumalanga has also called for government to speed-up interventions.
"Anti-piracy should not be a campaign that only involves artists, it should involve communities and government structures alike," said CWUSA provincial co-ordinator Alpheus Nhlabathi.
“The state is doing nothing to protect us from the illegal selling of our work. Instead, police are found in full state uniform buying fake CDs from the suspects,” said Mbuli.
He said artists were starving while pirates made millions on the streets with the support of the police.
He said the public should think about the hard-working artists before attempting to buy fake CDs and DVDs.
“Any person who claims to love my music or that of any artist, but still continues to buy fake music is a snake. That person is heartless,” said a fuming Mbuli.
Mbuli said that in August, he and other artists will launch a controversial campaign called Shoot the Pirate.
“I want to see if I'm going to be brought to court by singing a song called 'shoot the pirate', as they did with (ANCYL leader) Julius Malema,” he said.
Controversy
Mbuli is no stranger to controversy.
The poet was convicted for armed robbery and possession of a hand grenade in 1999 and was released in 2003. Mbuli has constantly denied having ever committed the crimes.
Ray Phiri, co-founder of legendary group Stimela, said although an anti-piracy campaign had been launched nationally, it should be vigorously implemented in all the provinces.
“People who buy fake music are crippling the families of the musicians and that discourages emerging artists from entering the industry. It also hits bad on the country's economy as artists are paying tax, but the aliens don't pay tax,” said Phiri.
Spokesperson of the department of trade and industry, Bongani Lukhele, said anti-piracy campaigns have been launched in the Free State, the Western Cape and Gauteng.
“We are speeding up the process to have all provinces involved in the campaigns,” said Lukhele.
Under their noses
In Mpumalanga, pirates brazenly sell their wares over the street from the police station.
Mpumalanga police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Leonard Hlathi told African Eye News Service (AENS) that police conducted raids 33 times since March this year, but arrested only six people.
When asked how police could have failed to make arrests when the illegal trade takes place right across the street from Nelspruit police station, Hlathi said the illegal traders always outrun cops.
“Arresting the suspects usually proves fruitless as the suspects run away and leave their stuff, including the fake CDs, DVDs and their TVs. However, we have managed to arrest six suspects, including a police reservist for accepting a bribe and buying pirated CDs,” he said.
Hlathi said since March police had confiscated 4 204 fake CDs and DVDs worth R70 427 in the city centre.
He said that the fake CDs and DVDs were destroyed while the TVs, which are used to screen the fake DVDs in the city centre, were auctioned.
Hlathi said the police reservist, Constable Themba Siyenga, from the Nelspruit police station, had already been suspended from service.
The Creative Workers Union of South Africa (CWUSA) in Mpumalanga has also called for government to speed-up interventions.
"Anti-piracy should not be a campaign that only involves artists, it should involve communities and government structures alike," said CWUSA provincial co-ordinator Alpheus Nhlabathi.
