Fort Hare accused and VIP bodyguard Khan protected top US singer

Just days after being released on bail for allegedly looting millions of rands from a university, celebrity bodyguard Anwar Khan was back on the social scene guarding American R&B star Joe Thomas who performed in Joburg on Tuesday night.

With dark sunglasses and in a black suit Khan, who is accused of paying hitmen involved in the deadly money laundering scam at Fort Hare University, kept a stern face as part of Thomas’s entourage on his three-city tour in Mzansi.

Khan was released on R200k bail on April 19, after telling the Dimbaza magistrate’s court that his business would suffer if he was not freed while waiting for the trial to start. Known to brag about guarding the world’s most famous stars at R56,000 a day, Khan was part of Thomas’s entourage during the star’s media conference on Monday at the SunBet Arena in Tshwane, ahead of his show on Tuesday night.

Khan stood next to Thomas as the US star took questions from journalists; he only interacted with his three bodyguards.

Thomas, who rose to superstardom in the ’90s, proved that he still got it when he ignited the SunBet Arena.

The American singer had his fans singing from the top of their voices to hits such as I Wanna Know, All That I Am, Good Girls and Don’t Wanna Be A Player. 

This was not the first time Thomas gave an eclectic performance in SA. In 2019 he held a one-night-only concert in honour of Women’s Month at Sun Arena Time Square.

“I love South Africa. It’s such a beautiful country, that’s why I always keep coming back,” the singer said earlier during the press conference. 

The 50-year-old Thomas is a household name that’s sustained relevancy for over three decades. 

In 2010, Billboard listed him in the top 50 R&B and hip-hop artists of the past 25 years. 

“[How I’ve sustained relevancy] is through my capability of being able to read my audience and to understand what it is that they want,” he said. 

“What also makes it easier is being in tune with what it is that I want and always allowing God to use me.”  

The R&B icon shared the new age R&B was longer the same as it doesn’t possess the same nuances as the songs of the 1990s. 

“Back then we had so many incredible artists. From Luther Vandross to Freddie Jackson, Anita Baker… the list just goes on.

“This list not only includes the artists performing the songs but the writers and producers. Nothing really sounded the same, everything had its own identity and I believe that’s what R&B needs to get back to authenticity and a song that will stand the test of time and will mean something one day.

“Don’t just write cool songs because you think that’s what it takes… it’s better to write something more meaningful. 

“Singers and songwriters considered every word and its meaning back in the day.” 

Thomas is a seven-time Grammy Award nominee and has been nominated for numerous other awards and accolades, including a BET Award, a NAACP Image Award and four Soul Train Music Awards.

While he’s considered one of the OGs of the ’90s R&B, he refuted the narrative that American musicians only come to SA late in their careers when they’re no longer “relevant”. 

“I don’t know the reasons why other musicians come to SA so late in their careers but the first opportunity I had to come here, I wanted to be here… as a matter of fact, I couldn’t wait to get here.

“I believe when an artist finally gets the chance to come to SA, they will experience something quite different and special, something quite amazing.

“I also think it’s unfair when artists wait until the end of their career to come to SA. They should grab the first opportunity they get to come here.”