Wendy Bolts With Mampi’s Money

Posted by on Aug 22, 2012 

Dancing queen Wendy Harawa has been caught up in controversy after being accused of bolting with Zambian diva Mampi‘s dues amounting to K300,000.
However, Wendy blamed Lucius Banda saying he failed to pay Mampi the full amount in time for the show at Mkango Lodge in Blantyre on Friday.
In an interview, Lucius said Wendy was lying as he paid Mampi K300,000 in two installments of K190,000 and K110,000.
“It’s a pity that Wendy continues lying in order to tarnish other people’s image. I paid the money although I was trying to buy time to determine some anomaly and I forgot everything only to be told later that Wendy had taken Mampi’s money,” said the Balaka based musician.
Mampi’s manager Victoria said that they received an amount of K300,000 from the owner of Phindu Promotions Abel Kumwenda and that they gave it to Wendy as their trusted artist to change it for them.
“Wendy was given the money upon trust to change it to Zambian kwacha but she bolted and switched off her phones,” she said.
Kumwenda said she is the one who organised the two shows in Lilongwe for Mampi and that he paid all her dues with the remaining from Lucius paid in Malawi kwacha.
“It was later on Sunday after the shows that Mampi called me saying Wendy was nowhere to be seen and that she had disappeared with their money. We went to her house but she was not there and so I just decided to give them the K300,000 with the aim of sorting it out with Wendy,” he said.
There has been a heated debate on the social network Facebook where many people have criticised Wendy for her action.
The hullabaloo started with former Lucius Banda’s manager Alexander Mkandawire posting on his wall that Wendy had disappeared with Mampi’s payment , money for accommodation as well as Lucius’ K100,000.
But she has gone back home with frustrations written all over her face, by road as she could not wait any longer to leave by plane today and was bailed out by the owner of Phindu Promotions who initially invited the singer to Malawi.
Wendy denied t h e accusations yesterday saying, she was tired of some people’s actions aimed at tarnishing her image.
“How can I steal money from Mampi, she is my friend and actually all the Zambian artists who come here have trust in me. Why should I run away?” she said.
She said Mampi gave her the money to change for her from Malawi Kwacha to Zambian Kwacha hence she sent someone to do the transaction at Chipata before handing over the money to the diva before her leave today.
She claimed that after the show she went to sort out other issues and that her phone went off immediately as she did not charge it.
“I have a problem with my phone hence all those people who were trying to contact me including Mampi could not reach me. But it was not a big deal since she was supposed to leave Wednesday (today) by plane. She has decided to leave by road simply because she could not wait up to Wednesday,” explained Wendy.
She said as a single mother, she has suffered a lot and was not ready for such allegations levelled against her. She said she would give back the money to Kumwenda since he had already paid Mampi.
When contacted later, Mampi said the problem came up because Wendy’s phones could not be reached until yesterday.
Mampi, who participated in the just ended Big Brother Africa (BBA) Stargame reality show representing Zambia, jetted into the country on Friday night before her performances at Mkango Lodge in Blantyre, Mungo Park and Tilipano Leisure Centre in Lilongwe.
source