A seemingly trivial mistake involving Radio 2000 ‘s SIM card that does not cost a dime has cost DJ Cleo his job at the station.
Africa Daily can exclusively reveal that the popular DJ resigned from the SABC radio station after being suspended for three weeks over an incident involving the broadcaster’s SIM card.
Several disgruntled station employees have told Africa Daily that DJ Cleo’s suspension stemmed from what they described as an innocent mistake — taking the SIM card home after removing it from a station tablet whose battery had died.
The sources claim DJ Cleo arrived at the station on Friday night to present his show titled “ The Eskhaleni Party” about three weeks ago.
Upon his arrival, he noticed that the battery of the tablet which they used to play voice notes was flat.
During the show, the awards-winning music producer extra-ordinare removed the SIM card from the tablet and inserted it into his cellphone so that he could play the voice notes. He allegedly forgot to remove it from his phone and return it to the tablet after completing his show.
The deep throat said DJ Cleo left the building with the SIM card still in his cellphone and went home.
According to the sources, when station management later asked all on-air talent about the whereabouts of the SIM card, DJ Cleo immediately admitted that he had mistakenly taken it with him and apologised.
However, instead of accepting his explanation , his apology and giving him a slap on the wrist , the Radio 2000 programme manager Khayakazi Koto suspended him for three weeks .
His sin?
She allegedly told him with that he took the SABC property without authorisation!
As if that was not enough, Koto went further and asked DJ Cleo to explain why he should not be dismissed, according to the sources.
“ I’m aggrieved because Cleo was not only loyal to the station, he sacrificed his studies to accommodate us. We don’t know may be they were paying him a lot of money and that is why they treated him like that. You know when people pay you a lot of money and they want to get rid of you, they pounce on innocent mistakes like this and get rid of you,” said the source.
Another source said the station should have looked at the genesis of the problem before acting so harshly against DJ Cleo.
“ Firstly, why don’t they have a charger for the tablet? Legally and simply put, they don’t have tools of trade and rely on contractors to charge their tablet, this is embarrassing,” said the source.
Another source, who is DJ Cleo’s classmate at Wits University where he is studying law, said the radio personality was extremely aggrieved by the suspension and threats to terminate his contract thats he resigned.
The classmate said DJ Cleo used to bunk classes and go to the station to stand in for certain on-air talents who either took French leave or called in sick.
“The man loved Radio 2000 and bent over backwards for them, but it appears the management, based on this development, did not reciprocate,” the classmate said.
When contacted for comment DJ Cleo, referred Africa Daily to the statement he issued on his social media platform in which he said he resigned from the station to concentrate on his music career.
Mmoni Ngubane, the Head of communications at SABC confirmed DJ Cleo’s resignation.
“The SABC confirms that DJ Cleo has left Radio 2000. We thank him for his contribution and wish him well in what comes next. Radio 2000 remains in a strong position, and the line-up is built to carry the station through the full year, and listeners can expect the same quality and consistency they enjoy from the station.
“Arrangements for the slot will be communicated to audiences in due course. As a matter of principle, the SABC does not discuss contractual matters in the public domain, we are therefore unable to comment on the rest of your questions. Such matters are handled through the appropriate channels,” said Ngubane.