‘Pray for her’: Mama Joy responds to raids on MaMkhize’s house

Mama Joy, whose real name is Joy Chauke, has sparked controversy by involving herself in yet another high-profile scandal – Shauwn Mkhize, also known as MaMkhize’s legal troubles.

The sports fan – a known Royal AM supporter – has asked the public to show empathy to the businesswoman who owns the PSL club.

MaMkhize – the CEO of the Zikhulise Group – has made headlines after her Durban home was raided by police and South African Revenue Services (SARS) officials. She has been previously charged with alleged criminal activity, including fraud, forgery, bribery, and tax evasion.

MAMA JOY ON MAMKHIZE CRIMINAL CASE

According to Sunday World, MaMkhize’s La Lucia home – which she shared with ex-husband Sbu Mpisane – was raised by officials last weekend.

The publication claims that during the raid, police found dozens of high-calibre rifles and ammunition. 

Police raided the businesswoman’s other properties, including one in Sandhurst, Johannesburg, a farm, and a four-storey mansion in Pietermaritzburg.

On the X app, South Africans were unsurprised by the discoveries, given that MaMkhize’s name trended in July after the alleged assassination attempt of a SARS advocate who was investigating her.

However, sports supporter Mama Joy – who is a Royal AM ambassador – seemingly defended the reality TV star.

When one X user called on authorities to “seize and freeze all her assets, restrict her ability to trade, so she can be poor like the rest of us,” Mama Joy responded, “Let’s pray for her.”

The sports fan’s tweet was met with disdain from tweeps who accused her of supporting a “criminal”.

DITCHING PIRATES FOR ROYAL AM

Last year, Mama Joy shot down speculation that she receives a stipend from MaMkhize for being a Royal AM supporter. 

Speaking on Robert Marawa’s Marawa Sports Worldwide, Chauke admitted she was friends with the businesswoman and often attended the PSL club games.

When Robert bluntly asked if MaMkhize paid her for her unofficial ambassadorship, she responded: “No. [Laughs] People are going to say, ‘You chowed Mamkhize’s money,’ I don’t know what to say!

“I’m a Royal AM supporter, and she will follow me and check in on me. I don’t get paid by her for what I do. I do it for the love of the game”. 

In 2021, Mama Joy infamously ditched Orlando Pirates – after 30 years of royal support – to back Royal AM instead.

She told Newzroom Afrika at the time:  “As hard as it is, I am leaving Orlando Pirates. I want to support MaMkhize as a woman in football, and I want to support Royal AM.

“I realised that she loves soccer and had her ambitions set on playing in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) when she acquired the status of Bloemfontein Celtic, and that kind of passion and purpose really clinched it for me.”

She added to the Sowetan: “There was no ‘transfer fee’. I have seen on social media they are saying MaMkhize asked her son Andile [Mpisane], ‘Andile, what do you want for Black Friday?’. And he said, ‘Buy Mama Joy.’ …But MaMkhize didn’t buy Mama Joy. She didn’t come to me. I went to MaMkhize.”

“Those who know me understand and support my decision. Even some fellow Pirates fans. That’s what I need because that’s my decision to take, and I have decided.”