Ikalanga comedy duo of Halala Tamabrown fame embroiled in bitter fight
The popular Ikalanga comedy duo of Halala Tamabrown fame, Tamajasana and Tamabrown who are the main actors in the drama which has become an instant hit, particularly in the north of the country, are currently engaged in a bitter war over character name use.
Peloentle Mpatane who uses the name Tamajasana in the drama has been accused of unethical practices by Tamabrown (Batumi Ngube)who informed VIBE that his partner has devised a plan to put food on his table as a Master of Ceremonies using his stage name something he has said confuse his fans.
“When we started this comedy from the blues in the dusty streets of Monarch, more than five years ago, it was unanimously agreed by the crew that I act as Tamabrown character whereas Mpatane settled for the name Tamajasana which he has since been using over the past years. Recently I have been receiving calls from my fans telling me of various shows and cooperate events I am scheduled to officiate at and when I investigated further, I then realised that my partner Tamajasana is using my name behind my back to make money since his character name is not that famous. If he wants his character name to garner more popularity he should work hard to archieve that,” Ngube grumbled.
He further said that the continued use of his stage name by his cofactor should come to an end as it is confusing his fans and spoiling his future business opportunities. “The situation has now gone out of hand as I sometimes appear at two shows in one day, thanks to my partner,” he complained. Bonfella Records boss Chase Solomon Mabutho the videographer, who is one of the brain child of the comedy together with the late Brigadier Cisco B, is also not amused at the current development. He told VIBE that the comedy which was initially done as a trial basis but belongs to neither one since no one can claim its rights.
“As one of the brains behind the production and script writing of the first episode, I lost interest once I realised that the two main actors have taken ownership of the product due to the fact that they were main actors as well as financiers of the drama. I then decided to concentrate on shooting the drama at a fee until its fifth episode. I have heard news that the two characters are fighting over name use due to greed for money. As far as I and the fans of drama know, Batumi is Tamabrown since the drama started and it will be a shame for the other character Tamajasana to start using the others name due to its popularity. He should instead concentrate on branding his character name by turning it into the envy of Ghetto like his partner has done over the past years since the drama was born, ”he said.
When Mpatane was confronted with the allegations, he fumed and said that Tamabrown should ‘go hang himself’ as the name Tamabrown is his trade mark which he officially registered.
“If fact he is the one who should apologise to me since he is using my trademarked name without my permission something I have long warned him against. To show that the name is officially mine, when I shot Tamabrown Part 4 last year, he never appeared in the drama due to some differences we had. I instead went on to partner with Radijo in Part 5 which was also tittled Halala Tamabrown Part 5. I can use the names as I wish without any fear or intimidation,” he said.