Ogopa Butterfly ‘Split’ Filled With Confusion and Bitterness

TWO of Namibia’s well known players in the music industry Lucas Bikedo and Sula Kyababa have been involved in a ‘he said, she said’ situation after the two decided to go their separate ways.

According to both parties, they initially decided to go into business together to form a record label that would have the mandate of signing and managing musicians.

This intention and idea gave birth to Ogopa Butterfly Productions cc which was registered under the Namibian Closed Corporation act of 1988.

The association would see Lucas, who had his own production company Ogopa DeeJays in Kenya, and Sula, who was running Butterfly Entertainment, come together.

The two agreed that their separate entities did in actual fact not merge at all and that they remained independent from the association that was entered into in 2008.

“Ogopa Butterfly Production is a separate entity from Ogopa DeeJays and Butterfly Entertainment, ” Lucas told The Weekender.

“There was no merger at all. We are two business people who decided to come together and form a separate company, ” Sula said.

When asked why he is using the name Ogopa Butterfly, Sula said that he wants to make it clear that Ogopa Butterfly should not be confused with having any association with Ogopa DeeJays.

“I got the name Ogopa Butterfly from a car I used to drive in the 90s. Ogopa is Swahili for ‘fear’. Because my car had the butterfly doors people named it Ogopa Butterfly which means ‘fear the butterfly’, ” Sula said.

According to Lucas, the two parties were supposed to start operating in 2008 already but because of issues with his papers regarding work permits, they could not open a bank account for Ogopa Butterfly Production cc and hence could not operate.

“I did not have a work permit yet so I was just in and out of the country. My papers were being delayed and that delayed a lot of things, ” Lucas said.

Lucas believes that Sula intentionally delayed his papers and to prove that point shared screen shots of conversations with Sula allegedly refusing to pay for work permits.

In light of Ogopa Butterfly Production being dormant, Lucas continued his production work, work Sula described as services rendered and paid for.

“He was my employee and he got paid for that, ” Sula said.

As time moved on and the association was not carried out, the two had a meeting on the way forward. After the meeting, they agreed on coming up with a memorandum association which would set out the relationship of the two parties and their duties.

According to electronic correspondence between the parties, Lucas did not sign the memorandum because he first needed to consult a lawyer before he could agree to the terms.

Lucas says that he had a problem with the fact that Sula did not want to backdate the association to 2008 when their partnership was born.

“This would mean that whatever money was made by Ogopa Butterfly, I would not benefit from because it would be as if we were not working since then, ” Lucas said.

Sula on the other hand said that his intended partner wanted to benefit from work and projects he did not invest in, but rather worked on as an employee and got paid for.

In an attempt to continue building his brand, business and name as a production house, Lucas told The Weekender that he just wants to focus on creating a music powerhouse for the entire Africa that will be based in Namibia.

“I believe that Namibia is the hub for African music to grow big. I have seen the talent here and I believe that this music industry has a great future, ” Lucas said.

The controversy comes at a time where the Kenyan based Ogopa DeeJays has been receiving negative publicity with reports of the company also falling apart because of financial difficulties.

As for Ogopa Butterfly, the entity has been linked to allegations of non payment and high employee turnover.

The recently crowned Female Artist of the Year, Chikune chose not to renew her contract with the label, saying she was not happy with the way her music was being handled with her album being delayed and promises not being kept.

“They still have Chikune’s album and refuse to release it, ” Lucas said.

Swart Baster had resigned from the label because of unkept promises but has since returned.

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