Prince Chauke

Award-winning gospel group Redeemed yesterday lashed out at the promoters of the Bebe & Cece Winans show, accusing them of treating them as amateurs.

The group was to have performed at the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg on Sunday but withdrew after, they said, they were asked to mime their songs.

Redeemed won the award for the best gospel group at the Metro FM music awards a fortnight ago.

The group is made up of Bafana Nkosi, Mojalefa Thebe, Terence Ramatselela, Rampa Masoko and Stephen Molakeng.

Speaking to Sowetan yesterday, Sfiso Ngcobo, the group's manager, said: "We indicated our displeasure to the promoters and decided to withdraw.

"We are professionals and we believe that our performance must be live. We had two full days of rehearsals and it was unacceptable of them [to ask us to mime].

"We always want to give audiences a high-quality performance and trust there will be other opportunities to entertain music lovers with integrity."

Morris Roda, the promoter of the show, said: "This is not the first time that local artists [have been asked to] perform in our shows. No one is asked to mime in our shows.

"We go out of our way to make sure that we deliver the best for the fans.

"What they are saying is ridiculous and I don't have time for people who are looking for cheap publicity stunts."

Redeemed was formed in 1999 and the group's first single, titled Mdumiseni, was released in 2000.