Lesedi FM’s award-winning presenter and businessman extraordinaire Motseki Mabuya has severed his contentious ties with the radio station.
So toxic were the last few months behind the mic that he was barred from taking to the air for his last shows on July 27 and 28.
He said a few days after announcing he would be leaving, programme manager Mannini Nyokong told him that the station had decided against allowing him to do his last two shows and say goodbye to his listeners.
Mabuya told Sunday World that Lesedi was not a conducive environment for presenters, adding that the on-air talent was treated poorly.
He said in his case, he was a dead man walking at the station from the day he stood up for the presenters.
Mabuya said presenters and management were at a team-building session when he asked if managers believed presenters felt their support.
He said he was called to a meeting, which turned out to be contract negotiations.
The programme manager, the controversial Nyokong, and the business manager, Mamontha Motaung, Thuso’s wife, attended the meeting.
“They only offered me the weekend graveyard slot – it was a take-it-or-leave-it deal.
He said Lesedi FM’s on-air talent comprises popular radio personalities such as Seipati “Twasa” Soke, Thabo “Bundle of Joy” Mokone, Nyakallo “Ba2cada” Leine, Thuso “DJ Singapore” Motaung, Thabo “Mr Cool” Kofa and Dikeledi “Ladysosky” Mageseni, among others.
“And Nyokong has clashed with Nyokong, Kofa, and Ba2cada and axed Phinel ‘DJ Finzo’ Sefatsa and Nkunyana ‘Skuzabel’ Nkunyana.” said Mabuya.
“As long as there’s a presenter on air, that’s all that matters to management,” he added, adding that he was the only one reshuffled even though his shows were doing well.
“I suspect my enquiry may have contributed to my subsequent reshuffling. That reshuffling not only placed me in a lower-rated time slot but also reduced my salary even though my shows performed well,” he said.
He told Sunday World that during that contract negotiation, “I was informed, ‘we are not going to discuss the previous contract or your performance.’ I was just offered a new contract to host two weekend shows from midnight to 2am.”
Mabuya, who was born in Qwaqwa and is the former station manager of Lesotho commercial radio station Bokamoso FM and founder of the now-defunct Hope FM community radio station in the Vaal, said that the station was not open to negotiation.
“Either accept the offer or decline it,” he said. “I agreed to the new terms, which included a commitment by the business manager to review the show after three months.
“By mid-July, no review had taken place, nor was there any communication regarding a change in plans. I firmly believe my reshuffling was punitive, an attempt to silence or teach me a lesson.
“I had hoped for a transparent, performance-based explanation for the changes, but none was provided. So, after reflecting, I concluded that leaving was the best decision.
“The show I was moved to wasn’t even aligned with my capabilities. I confronted every injustice and instance of bullying head-on, and that made me a target.
“Lesedi FM was a bad experience for me as far as radio is concerned. I left because I was no longer needed. I think I was too much for them, and they didn’t know how to handle me.
“From being introduced as the award-winning broadcaster when I arrived to being reduced to a weekend graveyard slot, that should tell you the story of my time at Lesedi.
“I had a great experience with the listeners, as they fuelled every show and kept me going until the end. I fought a good fight,” he said.
