Sushi King’s fishy girlfriend: Eda Rose

Comment on this story


IOL Tonight Pic Eda Rose FB

Eda Rose Facebook Fan Page

While Kenny Kunene was fondling Khanyi Mbau at a party to toast his ‘So What’ reality show last week, a war was brewing behind the scenes. It appears that the Sushi King has a girlfriend, but Eda Rose, YFM traffic girl and aspiring musician, would like the public to think otherwise. After Gayton McKenzie, Kunene’s close friend, business partner and ‘So What’ co-star referred to Rose as Kunene’s girlfriend, she appeared on Bonang Matheba’s YFM show and denied that she was anything other than a “friend”. A Sunday paper also published the allegation that Rose, who attended the wedding of President Jacob Zuma’s daughter Duduzile with Kunene earlier this year, tried to get her role edited out from the reality show, lest someone got the wrong idea.

McKenzie however, was having none of that, and proceeded to out Rose on Twitter. In a series of fiery tweets, McKenzie revealed that the former Miss Earth finalist and Kunene had been “been f***in buddies for long”.

“U better not say that I'm lying cause I bring out the security tapes at @zarsushiking apartment where @edaroseofficial is a regular,” said McKenzie, who’s twitter moniker is G_XCON.

“Dont be a devil at nite and f***in act a angel during the day, @edaroseofficial and @zarsushiking has been f***in buddies for long”.

“It hurts me to hear @edaroseofficial making @zarsushiking out to be a liar, you got f***ed eda. It's called reality baby. Sue me.

“I'm not an angel but I don't go live on the radio an talk sh*t denying the obvious. Girls stay away from glamour if you hate drama.”

Rose also known as Minnie Mouse, has a song out called “Handle That” – which is probably what McKenzie expects her to do with his Twitter tirade. - IOL

Whites made me what I am - Sushi king (Kenny Kunene & Gayton Mckenzie)

Whites made me what I am - Sushi king

SEP 21, 2011 | EDWARD TSUMELE | 219 COMMENTS

KENNY KUNENE SAYS: 'When I came out of jail, it was whites who gave me a job' PLUS 'Malema supported me in my hour of need - I am not now going to leave him in the cold'

I know that there are a lot of top people in the ANC and in business who support Malema privately, and yet they dare not show their public support for him just because they are afraid of losing tenders

These people are hypocrites. They are the sort of people who spend a fortune... then turn around to criticise me for doing the same

His reality TV show, So What, debuts on Saturday on e.tv at 7.30pm

"SUSHI King" Kenny Kunene has attributed his success in business to white people.

In an interview with Sowetan at the new Southern Sun Hotel in Hyde Park, Johannesburg, Kunene, who had a whole camera crew in tow, shooting his every move, was for the first time quite open about his climb to the top of the social ladder and the business world.

Famous for eating sushi off semi-naked women, the controversial businessman says black people, who have become his fierce critics, did not help him escape poverty.

Instead, whites did when they opened doors for him after 18 months of unemployment after he had come out of jail.

"When I came out of jail, I had no job for 18 months, and when I eventually got a job at a private school earning only R3,000 a month (before mysteriously clinching business deals) it was through white people.

"I was made by white people and no black person made me, including those who are now criticising me," Kunene said yesterday.

He said when he was unemployed and struggling most people isolated themselves from him.

The tycoon also said defiantly that no matter what, he would continue to support ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema in the face of various charges brought against him by the ANC.

Kunene also said he owed nobody an apology for living a good life, including throwing lavish parties.

He had worked hard for his money, and, contrary to public perceptions, had actually spent some of this money on charity, especially in the townships.

"Some people called me and criticised me for supporting Malema publicly in the face of the charges. My answer is that I will continue supporting Malema because when I was criticised (for the parties) he publicly defended me, and therefore I am not now going to leave him in the cold.

"I am supporting him in return because I appreciate what he did.

"And, for a fact, I know that there are a lot of top people in the ANC and in business who support Malema privately, and yet they dare not show their public support for him just because they are afraid of losing tenders.

"I do not have a tender, even though I would love to have one. So I do not worry about losing a tender by supporting someone like Malema, who supported me in my hour of need," Kunene declared, throwing up his hands in anger.

The controversial businessman reserved most of his criticism for his detractors, who often speak out about his lavish parties, as they often say the expensive parties take place in a society characterised by immense inequalities between the rich and the poor, and he would serve society much better if he invested among the poor by, for example, building houses.

"These people are hypocrites. They are the sort of people who spend a fortune on expensive whisky, including buying a 21-year-old bottle, which as a businessman I actually like.

"The problem is they then turn around to criticise me for doing exactly the same.

"I am not the only businessman throwing expensive parties.

"My crime is that I am an ex-convict, and the fact that I go public about the parties, while they do it in the privacy of their homes. And besides, who says that you should work hard to earn money to give to the poor?

"Today in my office I have piles of proposals from young black people who would never dream of going to the same people criticising me. Those young people have confidence in me and not in those people because they know they are useless, and will not help them."

There are now several versions of how Kunene made his fortune.

The popular one is that when he and his business partner Gayton McKenzie were released from prison, McKenzie penned a book about his life inside.

Kunene helped him sell the book as McKenzie's right-hand man when McKenzie held motivational talks at schools discouraging pupils from crime.

"I am loyal to my friends. Gayton and I were best friends in prison, and we still are outside prison, and are today business partners. It is the same loyalty that calls for me to support Malema because he supported me also."

The businessman's new reality TV show, So What, debuts on Saturday on e.tv at 7.30pm.

ZAR nightclub owners may appear in court : Gayton Mckenzie & Kenny Kunene

ZAR nightclub owners may appear in court
Graeme Raubenheimer | 6 Hour(s) Ago

The owners of the trendy ZAR nightclub in Cape Town may have to appear in court soon.

Apparently, the club’s co-owners Kenny Kunene and businessman Gayton McKenzie have not paid fines issued in May and August for trading without a business license.

The City of Cape Town said it submitted its papers to court and would like the owners to be issued with a summons.

City spokesperson Kylie Hatton said the owners have not paid two outstanding fines.

“The club will still be monitored for contraventions until a court date has been set,” she said.

McKenzie said they are fighting the move.

“Those fines we disputed and we took the matter up in court. We are going to court in October. We are following the law,” he said.

Sushi King launches TV show: Gayton Mckenzie & Kenny Kunene

Sushi King launches TV show

ANDILE NDLOVU | 23 September, 2011 00:50
Kenny Kunene Picture: SIBUSISO MSIBI


There was plenty of sushi - in fact, too much of it - but there were no naked women lying on their backs last night as Kenny Kunene hosted a preview of his reality TV show So What, premiering on e.tv tomorrow night.

Kunene told gathered media, friends and celebrities that he had earlier been approached by German commercial channel RTL - which also has a presence in countries such as Holland, Belgium, Poland and Hungary - that was willing to broadcast his reality show.

"They were going to put me in front of 18 million people, but I said to [business partner] Gayton [McKenzie]: 'Let's start at home'," Kunene said.

He said his critics should know that despite him not being "a genius", no stupid man could own a club in a five-star hotel in a city that has the biggest economy on the continent.

Kunene also used the opportunity to respond to critics who had claimed he had not given anything to charity, saying he was not the one to make a "noise about what I do". He said if he were requested to do so, he could fill a book.

The pilot episode will feature the wedding of President Jacob Zuma's daughter, Dudu Zuma, in East London - with never-before-seen footage of both the white wedding and traditional ceremony.

At last night's launch, Uyanda Mbuli was a winner in a purple jumpsuit and a leopard-print clutch. Supersport's Carol Manana matched her patterned dress with a figure belt and heels, whereas good-girl-gone-bad Nonhle Thema looked demure in a figure-hugging dress.

Babalwa Mneno, Khanyi Mbau, Iko Mash and Mike Mvelase (Khaphela in the soapie Generations) were also there
.

CRG mining licence under threat


Comment on this story


Central Rand Gold (CRG), the controversial prospecting and gold mining company, has until the end of business today to provide a presentation to Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu as to why the department should not shut down its operations.

The company was issued with a notice last month in which it was informed of the Department of Mineral Resources’s decision to re-evaluate its mining right as a result of certain elements of “non-compliance” with the social labour plan requirements for its new order mining right.

The junior mining firm, which was established to explore untapped reefs at defunct mines in the south of Johannesburg, has been accused of failing to deliver on its promises to communities where it operates, and it has contravened numerous mining regulations.

The Sunday Times reported at the weekend that the company might have been in breach of stock exchange rules by failing to disclose to shareholders that the government planned to shut the firm down this week. It is listed in Johannesburg, London, Frankfurt and Berlin.

“These guys (CRG) want to mine and not put anything back into the community, as a result people are calling for the nationalisation of mines because of government’s failure to act against these companies,” said Godfrey Makomene, the chairman of the Affected Communities Elected Representatives.

Makomene called on the department to “put its foot down” by withdrawing the firm’s mining licence because of its failure to commit to upliftment.

Department of Mineral Resources spokesman Bheki Khumalo said Shabangu would at a later stage make a decision on whether the company could continue to mine.

“They must make a representation tomorrow (Wednesday) … because the minister has informed it of her intention to cancel its licence.”

Makomene’s biggest problem with CRG was that it did not stick to its promise of creating 4 000 direct and 32 000 indirect jobs. Instead, there had been retrenchments at the firm, Makomene said. CRG promised to uplift communities with R54.2 million in projects.

Johan du Toit, CRG’s chief executive, was not available for comment. However, according to an earlier statement by the company, the social labour plan was based on CRG’s original 2008 operational plan submission that envisaged a considerably larger resource base.

CRG had to halt underground mining in March, citing rising acid mine drainage levels and unanticipated missing reefs. CRG made headlines when convicted fraudster Kenny Kunene was appointed as senior manager of community relations along with Gayton McKenzie, who was convicted for bank robbery.

CRG shares closed unchanged at 9c on the JSE. - Dineo Matomela

Sushi kings risk sinking cash cow:Gayton Mckenzie


STEPHAN HOFSTATTER, ROB ROSE and MZILIKAZI WA AFRIKA | 04 September, 2011 01:13
Kenny Kunene Picture: SIBUSISO MSIBI


The company that turned bank robber Gayton McKenzie and fraudster Kenny Kunene into flashy multimillionaires faces losing its mining licence, because the ex-convicts cut corners to get it.

Central Rand Gold (CRG) may also have broken London and Johannesburg stock exchanges rules by failing to disclose to shareholders, who have sunk R1.67-billion into it, that government is considering shutting down the mine next week.

The mine is near Soweto, Johannesburg, and has rights to a 40km reef estimated to be worth hundreds of billions of rands.

On August 5, the Department of Mineral Resources sent a Section 47 notice to CRG, informing it of "the intention of the Minister (Susan Shabangu) to suspend or cancel the mining operation in question".

It said CRG had done nothing to fix clear breaches of its mining right despite being ordered to do so repeatedly during several compliance inspection meetings dating back to 2009.

This is because neither the social and labour plan nor the environmental management programme was fully implemented.

Shabangu's spokesman Bheki Khumalo confirmed the company's final deadline expires this week. He said Shabangu "has been very clear: we are going to pounce on companies that do not implement social and labour plans".

It was Kunene and McKenzie who ran the division responsible for CRG's social and labour plan, the blueprint for how the mine says it will help the local community - a pre-condition for being awarded a mining right. The two ex-convicts, who had no mining experience, were paid at least R13.5-million in shares, salaries and bonuses for convincing poor communities in Soweto to support the mine by promising them jobs, poverty relief projects and shares.

In salaries alone, Kunene and McKenzie earned R4.7-million a year - launching their spectacular rise from rags to riches.

Kunene went from selling fish from his car boot to eating fish [sushi] off models, driving supercars and hobnobbing with President Jacob Zuma.

Though McKenzie told the Sunday Times that "everyone who's been involved [including] me and Kenny, should share some responsibility" if the mining right is cancelled, he reacted angrily to suggestions they should pay back CRG if the company loses its mining right.

"R13.4-million might be a lot for you, but it's not a lot for me. I didn't hold a gun to anyone's head and say 'pay me that'. It's what I'm worth," he said.

He said he knew of no mining company that complies 100% with the mining rules. "We were hired to get the mining rights, and we did our job flawlessly."

Kunene declined to discuss the issue. "I am no longer at CRG so I can't comment."

But community leaders believe they should take the blame. "Gayton and Kenny must be held accountable for all this mess," said Godfrey Makunene. "They decided to enrich themselves. Police must investigate."

CRGcould also be breaking the rules of the JSE and the London Stock Exchange.

The JSE's Andre Visser said the rules "place an obligation on a company to announce something to the market that is unpublished, and price-sensitive".

CRG's CEO, Johan du Toit, said he hadn't told shareholders of the threat because "I don't believe we're at that stage yet. Once final discussions have gone on with the DMR ... and they say, 'you've got X amount of days to sort this out, then we'll go to shareholders.' ''

Initially, the department gave CRG until August 24 to comply.

Du Toit confirmed that the deadline was extended to this week. Charl Kocks, the CEO of governance experts Ratings Afrika, says any threat to cancel a mining right is "price-sensitive" and has to be disclosed to shareholders immediately.

Mandla Mtsweni, the CEO of CRG's 26% black empowerment shareholder Puno Gold, said it was improper not to disclose the notice to shareholders as this robbed them of important information. "It has a fundamental effect on investor confidence and share price." - hofstatters@sundaytimes.co.za

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...