Sol Phenduka said his suspension is linked to a R2.5M lawsuit, which was launched by media personality Minnie Dlamini.
After speculation about the reason for his suspension by Kaya FM, broadcaster Sol Phenduka has broken his silence.
“You know what it’s about; it’s about the court case with Minnie,” said Phenduka, speaking on MacG’s Podcast And Chill, of which he is the co-host, on Thursday.
Earlier this month, media personality Minenhle ‘Minnie’ Dlamini launched a R2.5 million lawsuit against MacGyver ‘MacG’ Mukwevho and Phenduka.
Dlamini accused the Podcast and Chill hosts of hate speech and harassment, and in submitted court papers, Dlamini seeks legal accountability.
She is demanding R1 million for herself and an additional R1.5 million to be donated to a women’s organisation.
ALSO READ: Minnie Dlamini sues MacG and Sol Phenduka for R2.5 million over podcast remarks
The suspension
On Wednesday, Gauteng-based radio station Kaya FM announced that Phenduka was suspended with immediate effect, pending an investigation.
“Kaya 959 confirms that presenter Sol Phenduka has been placed on suspension with immediate effect. This step has been taken pending the outcome of an internal process currently underway,” read a statement shared with The Citizen by Ian Bredenkamp, who handles PR for the station.
“The station is committed to following due process, and no further details will be shared at this stage.”
“I did nothing, literally,” said Phenduka.
“A lot of people assume I did something… I didn’t come to work, or I did something wrong at work, or I was unprofessional,” he said.
Phenduka said he was suspended for seven days. “It’s a wrap,” MacG responded, adding that the issue with Dlamini was “an old story”.
“But when the case happened, then they came through. Remember earlier on I said that guy I beat wrote to 5FM, cause obviously it was gonna be a matter of ‘you brought the station into disrepute, etcetera, etcetera’,” said Phenduka.
ALSO READ: Kaya FM suspends Sol Phenduka pending an internal investigation
Kaya’s new partners
He said he was surprised that Kaya FM released a statement on Wednesday.
“I’m surprised because they were like, ‘Don’t talk about it,’ and they drop the statement. So now I’m like, ‘Guys, I’m doing a podcast; I’ll get asked.’”
Co-host MacG said their podcast is always in hot water and asked what changed this time. “Is there new management or something?” asked MacG.
“Oh yeah, there is new management,” Phenduka responded. He said that United Stations purchased Kaya FM.
United Stations became a sales partner to Kaya FM in February this year.
“We are confident this partnership will be productive and impactful. Above all, we assure our stakeholders that this transition will be handled seamlessly,” said Kaya FM’s Managing Director, Colleen Louw, after the announcement.
United Stations is now responsible for selling Kaya FM’s advertising space and airtime to potential clients.
This involves marketing and securing advertisers who want to promote their brands on Kaya FM, connecting clients to the station’s audience, and driving new commercial opportunities for both the advertisers and Kaya FM.
United Stations took over from Multichannel sales house Mediamark, which had been a partner with the station since 2016.
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