Two Ukhozi FM presenters have been suspended for a month after playing a controversial song about ANCYL president Julius Malema, The Witness newspaper reported on Friday.
The two apparently played the song during the traditional music show Utalagu on Saturday and were suspended on Thursday, the newspaper reported.
SABC spokesman Kaizer Kganyago told the newspaper the station decided to take presenters Khathide “Tshatha” Ngobe and Ngizwe Mchunu off air after they played the song, which was not on the playlist.
“This is not about the song, but about the two disregarding the rules. The song was not scheduled on the show’s playlist.
“This decision was made after a meeting in which the two were given a chance to explain themselves, where they did admit to their wrongdoing.”
“The station and the SABC take the breaching of these rules seriously,” said Kganyago.
Izingane Zoma, a maskandi group, reportedly wrote a song accusing Malema of being uncontrollable and of criticising the ANC leadership.
The single, called uMalema, was recently sent to radio stations and was expected to hit the shelves of Durban music shops on Thursday.
African National Congress Youth League secretary general Sindiso Magaqa said it would fight the release of the song in court and would sue the group for defamation.
“If they release that stupid song, we will hit them hard,” Magaqa said.
Kganyago said the presenters had focused on the song because of the controversy it had attracted, disregarding the fact that it was not on the playlist.
“You don’t just go to the archives and retrieve a song without approval. This rule applies to all presenters in all stations,” he said.
The same group released the song, Msholozi, after President Jacob Zuma's clan name, before he was elected ANC president in 2007. It called for him to be president and for corruption charges against him to be dropped. - Sapa