South Africa’s Major League DJs Sued In Kenya Over Breach Of Contract, Mombasa Show Uncertain

The Afters KE African Music Festival, one of the most talked about December entertainment lineups in Mombasa, has been thrown into confusion after South African Amapiano duo Major League DJs were sued in Kenya for alleged breach of contract.

The dispute has cast a dark cloud over the December 13 show that was expected to draw thousands of music lovers to Old Town, raising fresh questions about the reliability of international performers in the country’s fast growing live events scene.

The trouble began when the duo, through their companies Major League Spaces PTY Ltd, Tshipe Project and Balcony Mix Africa, publicly told Nairobi Gossip Club on Instagram that they had never confirmed the Mombasa performance.

They accused the festival of using their images and branding without permission and dismissed the posters circulating online as false advertising.

For fans who had been counting down to their ninety minute set, the announcement felt like an unexpected blow.

Many had already made travel plans and were purchasing advance tickets on the strength of the duo’s appearance on promotional material.

On the other side of the dispute, event organizers Filmex Travels Kenya Limited say they followed every correct step to secure the artists.

Court documents show that a performance contract was signed on October 28 with a fee of twenty thousand dollars.

Half of the amount was paid on November 4 as a deposit, giving Filmex more than a month to roll out marketing and publicity for the coastal festival.

The organizers say they were blindsided when the duo went public with claims that they had no agreement in place.

Filmex argues that the move embarrassed the festival, confused fans and caused severe financial damage.

Lawyer Elkana Mogaka, acting for Filmex, told the Mombasa Commercial Court that the public withdrawal disrupted weeks of planning and threw the entire event into doubt.

He said the organizers had already spent heavily on venue preparation, marketing and logistics and that the sudden change in tone from the artists had pushed the event into crisis.

Filmex is now seeking special damages of five point eight eight million shillings for losses incurred.

The company also wants the South African entertainers compelled to publish a full page apology in two Kenyan newspapers, explaining that their claim of false advertising was itself misleading.

While the court has certified the case as urgent, the matter is far from resolution.

If the restraining orders sought by Filmex are granted, the duo would not be allowed to make further public statements about the booking.

Such an order would keep fans in suspense and leave them unsure about whether the festival will proceed in its original form, whether the headliners will perform or whether a new lineup will be assembled at short notice.

What many fans may not know is that this is not the first time the South African duo has fallen out with Kenyan promoters.

In a separate case before the High Court, Nairobi based firm Six AM Holdings Limited is seeking to recover a deposit of twenty five thousand South African rand that it paid to secure Major League DJs as headliners for an event at the Waterfront, Ngong Racecourse in July 2021.

According to the promoters, the artists confirmed the booking, acknowledged the deposit and allowed posters and marketing to go live in June of that year.

But with about a week to the show, the artists’ management reportedly cancelled the performance and blamed the decision on travel complications linked to Kenya’s listing on a Covid red zone and the duo’s planned movements to the United Kingdom.

Six AM director Yassir Omar says that after the cancellation, the artists promised to refund the deposit and even sent a PayPal notification of a one thousand five hundred dollar payment.

The money was later reversed and the deposit was never refunded.

Omar says he was stunned when he learned that the DJs were in Kenya months later performing at a different event, despite having earlier claimed that travel restrictions made their July booking impossible.

He says he confronted the duo at a hotel in December 2021 where they again promised to pay back the money but never fulfilled the pledge.

The dispute escalated further when the artists performed again in Nairobi in November 2022 at a skating event at a time when the unpaid deposit issue remained unresolved.

Six AM says that attempts to involve the police were unsuccessful because no court order had been issued.

The company has now moved to court seeking orders to have the artists detained by immigration authorities upon arrival in Kenya until the overdue refund is settled.

The promoters also want the court to bar the artists and their management from entering or performing in the country without clearance.

They argue that Major League Spaces PTY Ltd is domiciled in South Africa and has no attachable assets within Kenya, making traditional debt recovery nearly impossible.

The two cases now paint a troubling picture for Kenyan promoters who rely on international acts to draw ticket sales and add prestige to their events.

For fans, the repeated disputes raise questions about professionalism and accountability in cross border entertainment bookings.

Kenya has become a major stop for African and global performers in recent years, but the rapid expansion of the events market has also exposed gaps in contract enforcement and communication between artists and promoters.

For now, the fate of The Afters KE African Music Festival lies in the hands of the court.

Organizers in Mombasa are pushing ahead with preparations, but uncertainty hangs over the headline slot that was supposed to be filled by Major League DJs.

If the duo is blocked from performing or if they refuse to appear, the festival could be forced into a last minute overhaul of its program.

If the parties reach an agreement, the festival might still proceed as originally planned.

Fans who had hoped to dance to a live Amapiano set by the South African stars will have to wait a little longer to know whether their December plans are intact or whether the festival will become another cautionary tale in Kenya’s unpredictable concert calendar.

What remains clear is that as Kenyan audiences grow more discerning and international bookings become more common, disputes like this one will continue to shape the future of the country’s entertainment landscape.