'Bring me proof!'- Mzwakhe Mbuli lashes out at 'funeral scammer' claims

Musician and poet Mzwakhe Mbuli has hit back at accusations that he allegedly scammed Mandoza's family out of thousands of rand at the time of his death, and that he was looking to profit from Ray Phiri's death.

These claims were leveled against Mzwakhe by radio personality and Mandoza's close friend Thabiso Mosia. 

In a series of tweets, Thabiso claimed that Mzwakhe's modus operandi was to offer help to the family of the deceased by allegedly asking government departments for money. Thabiso further claimed that Mzwakhe would allegedly then pocket most of the money and go back to family who would have to fork out the money for services required. 

"The ministers/MEC then give them the [money] but they keep most of it and pretend they didn't get enough. Family then must start all over again," he said. 

Thabiso expressed concern that the same thing would happen to the Phiri family. 

"(I am) saddened by Oom Ray's passing. Even sadder hearing that Mzwakhe Mbuli is already doing the talking. He's only there to steal money. Trust me. (I) was in two family meetings with Mzwakhe Mbuli and his 'legends' cronies at MDZ. They tried to steal every penny, from food, sound,venue hire etc. With all due respect to the family, Mzwakhe might be a family friend. But trust me, now he's there to steal. He has no good intentions at all," Thabiso wrote.

Speaking to TshisaLIVE, Mzwakhe denied the claims and challenged Thabiso to lay police charges against him.  

"I vehemently deny the claims and challenge him (Thabiso) to lay charges against me if he suspects that there was fraud. I am not above the law. I am not a conman. I am not corrupt. I fought for these people's freedoms and now they repay me by accusing me of being a scammer?"  he said.

Mzwakhe also invited people who suspected him to bring evidence. "I am no stranger to silly accusations but because of this I think it is best if I stay away from Ray's funeral arrangements. I will just be a normal person and won't offer my assistance," he added.