Ha Thamae-situated Shelly Brown night club and car wash has announced its closure, leaving nothing but misery to its employees and clubbers who regarded it as more than just a club.
Shelly Brown started operating in 2018 and it was announced permanently closed on Monday this week.
A statement by its management said: “We are saddened to announce the permanent closure of our beloved Shelly Brown. The team sincerely thanks you for your unwavering support over the years. We carry with us the wonderful times we experienced together with #Bakhotsi ba Shelly Brown (Shelly Brown’s friends).”
The closure comes after Shelly Brown’s owners, Tumisang Thahanyane and his wife, ‘Malerato Khutlisi were in January this year charged by the Maseru Magistrate Court of defrauding Tholo Energy M 40 million.
Thahanyane was Tholo Energy’s chief financial officer when the money allegedly went missing between 2018 and 2023.
He was accused of stealing the money and depositing part of it into Khutlisi’s account.
The couple was charged alongside other 13 alleged acquaintances on fraud, theft and money laundering charges. They appeared before Resident Magistrate Motlatsi Kolisang on January 26, 2024.
In February, the court ordered that Shelly Brown’s Club stock and property be confiscated, an operation that was led by the court clerk and police. However, it resumed operations in March.
In an interview with theReporter this week, Phofu Motholo who worked as Shelly Brown’s resident DJ said it is sad to see such a big business shut down especially because it had impacted many people’s lives.
“It’s not nice to see people losing jobs in a country where there is already a high unemployment rate. Another issue is about the people whom we called the crowd, who clubbed there. Shelly Brown was not just a club or a place where people would just go and have fun, but it was way more than that.
“It was a place where people would have comprehensive fun, whereby even if one had problems they would get relieved when they got there. That is what they said through their social media platforms (Facebook) comments on the statement,” said Motholo, who is popularly known as DJ Saucy.
He noted that some people met the love of their lives at Shelly Brown and even got married and are still together today.
He added that was something he encouraged patrons to do; finding their partners without being shy.
Khutlisi said the reason behind the club’s permanent closure is that the place they operated on was rented.
As result, she could no longer afford to pay the rent after losing her job, and the landlord had to kick them out.
She indicated that there is already a tenant who has hired the place even though she was not sure of the kind of business that will be conducted there.
“We already had our Facebook page so we will sell it to them. However, they will have to change the name of the club so that wherever I will relocate to I am able to retain it.
“I have heard people are not happy but there is nothing we can do, probably by tomorrow or next month I will have found an alternative place to reopen Shelly Brown and make the necessary announcement. People should calm down, we are not gone forever. We will be back,” Khutlisi added.
