Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - October 24, 2004
Charles Molele
The playwright and theatre director - who announced last year that he has HIV/Aids - has refused to co-operate with a foundation set up in his name by a group of artists led by director Duma kaNdlovu. Kente claims they are using his name without his consent.
Kente, 72, told Metro this week that he was only interested in being part of a foundation that would help people living with Aids.
The spat erupted after the Gibson Kente Foundation - which aims, according to its administrator, Maishe Maponya, to help preserve Kente's works for posterity and use them to inspire young artists - approached Kente about transferring ownership of his house in Dube, Soweto, so that it could be turned into a museum.
The Department of Arts and Culture wanted a letter of consent from Kente before it would release money into the foundation's coffers, to pay off his debts, and have the house declared a museum after his death.
Maponya said the foundation had been set up to "pay tribute to his [Kente's] contribution to the arts" and not to "look after his health".
He said the drawn-out process had upset Kente's creditors, who were pressing the foundation to settle his debts. Kente's debts reportedly amount to almost R1-million.
Earlier this year, First National Bank entered into an interim agreement with the foundation to delay repossession of Kente's house until money was raised from the Department of Arts and Culture, and ownership of the house was transferred to the foundation.
Kente used his house as collateral to secure a R150000 loan from the bank in June 2001. He has since been unable to repay the money.
In addition, Kente owes about R200000 to his son Fezile, R300000 to Eastern Cape promoter David Boyce Phokeng, as well as various amounts to a string of "loan sharks", said Maponya.
The foundation's assistant administrator, Chris Ndlovu, said its trustees - Mara Louw, Maponya, Sello "Chicco" Twala and Lindelani Mkhize - were growing frustrated with Kente's intransigence because they wanted to settle his debts and go on with the work of preserving his legacy.
"Everybody is frustrated and wants their money, but Bra Gib refuses to co-operate," said Ndlovu. But a clearly irritated Kente said he wanted nothing to do with the "self-appointed" trustees and claimed they were using his name without his consent.
He said the only legacy he wanted to leave was that of helping people with HIV/Aids.
Kente lives on a monthly grant of R700 from the Theatre Benevolent Fund, as well as handouts from artists.
He stunned South Africans when he publicly declared his HIV status in February last year. Aids activists at the time praised Kente's courage and said his disclosure could mark a turning point in the country's fight against the HIV/Aids epidemic.
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