Nando's distances itself from fake 'Bishop Israel Makamu' ad

Fast-food chain Nando’s has distanced itself from an advert making light of a viral recording of Rea Tsotella presenter Bishop Israel Makamu, saying it is in no way aligned to its brand or values.

On Tuesday, Israel stepped down from his position at Moja Love pending an investigation into the recording of a conversation with alleged “sexual connotations” with an unidentified woman. 

The channel said Israel admitted he was the person behind a voice in the recording, which he said was from 2017, but denied the conversation was sexual. 

In the recording, the AmaBishop presenter could be heard asking the woman if she was alone as he planned to go see her. He then asked her “o tlo mpha?” (will you give me?) to which the woman — who refers to him as “daddy” — replies with a “no” multiple times before giving in and saying she would do so on Sunday. 

Reacting to the news, social media users shared a fake Nando's advert making light of the situation. 

“Wa bhora, sometimes we share but sometimes it's a no,” read the fake advert.

Responding to the advert, Nando’s SA said while they value the enthusiasm of fans for their brand, they do not appreciate the production of fake adverts or parody accounts.

“This is in bad taste and is in no way aligned to our brand or values. And remember, if it’s not on our page, it’s not ours,” said Nando's.

Moja Love said they would investigate the matter before Israel could be reinstated. 

“As a channel, we take this recording very seriously. We have started with an internal investigation and are reaching out to the lady in the recording to find out the events around the recording. One of our properties, AmaBishop, reveals behind the scenes shenanigans that pastors and bishops engage in and impose on the public. 

“We cannot ignore a recording of this nature where one of our hosts is implicated. We have to establish the facts and truth before Makamu comes back as part of the team,” said Moja Love’s head of channel Bokani Moyo.