Besides being a copyright attorney, he is the proprietor of Siyandisa Music. The late Graeme Gilfillan was well known for bringing the late Miriam Makeba’s two grandsons Lumumba and Zenzile Lee to court in an effort to prevent them from accessing her intellectual property and the rights to her legacy. His body was found at his Yeoville residence on Sunday morning, according to ZiMoja.

 

His niece, Jessica Gilfillan confirmed the news saying, “Miriam Makeba was one of the artists my uncle helped get royalties for after unfair treatment due to her race. Rest in peace Graeme.” And colleague and friend, Vanessa Perumal also shared the news, “I know lots of my peers and music industry networks have crossed paths. #RIPGraeme.”

The contentious attorney is believed to have suffered a heart attack and passed away on Sunday, according to a witness who was there when his body was being carried from his home. His driver was attempting to reach him when he found him. “The driver had been calling him and he could not reach him. He then showed up at his home on Sunday only to find him dead. His family and close friends have been informed, and an official statement will be made later today. But this is sad, he was all alone, and no one deserves that kind of departure.”

Graeme has a reputation for creating contentious news stories. The family of Mariam Makeba defeated the former company manager in 2018 to obtain the song rights. To prevent her two grandkids from accessing her intellectual property and legacy rights, Graeme filed a lawsuit against the late South African legend. The singer was unable to be inducted into the South African Hall of Fame without his music firm’s written consent, therefore the music company filed a motion to protect full ownership of her name. They contended that Miriam had made preparations throughout her career to make her catalogue commercially viable even after her passing, notwithstanding the family’s assertion that this arrangement was made up.