Durban - A radio jock, who was given an opportunity to host a show at community station Durban Youth Radio last Thursday, has been accused of sabotage.
Leshave Dilraj, 23, was allegedly captured on CCTV footage removing and rewiring vital studio equipment, which led to the station being temporarily off air the following morning.
Despite Dilraj having apologised for his quick fix antics, to allegedly resolve a technical issue, station management say he is no longer welcome at DYR.
Dilraj, who previously worked at Megazone, then took to social media on Friday afternoon to announce he was axed from the station
“NOTE: I am no longer affiliated with Durban Youth Radio. I have been dismissed due to the result of a technical malfunction. I am just that evil, I pull cables out like a badass yo. #Thuglife #CableSwopLife #BrownBoyStruggle,” he wrote.
He then posted two screen shots in the comment section of the post - one presumably an e-mail from the station and the second a WhatApp message allegedly sent to him by another jock requesting he return to fix the problem. Dilraj has since removed the post.
The station’s spokesperson, Kevin Minter-Brown, said the claims that Dilraj was dismissed due to a technical malfunction are false.
“First, he is not an employee of DYR, which is a community station run by volunteers. He was given the opportunity to host a show on Thursday evening and CCTV footage shows him actively removing vital cables, adjusting settings on the computer and effectively rewiring the system, which made it impossible for the breakfast show team on Friday to perform vital functions to ensure the smooth running of the show,” said Minter-Brown.
The station, he added, was temporarily off air that morning.
“While he did this and (with) our recording facilities switched off, management of DYR said this was tantamount to sabotage and asked that he not return to the station.”
Dilraj told POST this week that he had apologised for his actions.
“My social media outburst was a result of emotion and I apologised for that to DYR management already.
However, my intentions were never bad.
“I swopped cables in an attempt to resolve a technical issue. Late night radio can be daunting and often a call out to technical (staff) will result in many hours of air time lost. I acted out of instinct and what my years on radio had told me was right.
“I did not know what the result of my quick fix would be,” he said.
“Right now, I just want to pick up the pieces and move on. I appeal to the public to afford me that opportunity.”
It is not the first time Dilraj has found himself in hot water at a radio station.
A few weeks ago, his relationship with audio streaming station Megazone went sour and he left.