Revered KayaFM radiocaster Sizwe Dhlomo made headlines once again, and this time, the 32-year-old would not take the online backlash lying down.
Sizwe Dhlomo breaks silence on ‘KayaFM’ HR storm
In an explosive City Press exclusive, KayaFM insiders leaked information on the dismissal of station manager Sibongile Mtyali over an alleged feud with Dhlomo. According to reports, Mtyali was axed by the station’s board of directors, which includes the likes of Kwaito legend Thebe and media magnate Kagiso Tiso, over a staff rotation blunder.
Based on the account of insiders, things at KayaFM went awry when Mtyali was relieved of her duties for allegedly refusing to yield to the pressures of the board. It’s said Mtyali implemented a staff reshuffle on Dhlomo’s Kaya Drive and replaced sports presenter Sandile van Heerden with Mpho Maboi.
For this decision, Mtyali’s peace at the radio station was rocked and, ultimately, movements from above led to her exit from the building. However, Dhlomo, whose name was dragged in the mud for a similar issue with Unathi Nkayi, surfaced with an alternative narrative of how the station manager allegedly lost her job.
According to Dhlomo, Van Heerden’s exit was allegedly communicated to him by Mtyali, to which, his response was “no problem, [me] I’ll work with whomever you give me.”
The radiocaster explained in a series of tweets that Maboi would be joining a team with a set schedule which included mandatory show meetings at 13:00.
This scheduling conflict, it seems, was the start of Mtyali’s undoing. While insiders claim the station manager’s axing was the result of Dhlomo’s alleged ties with KayaFM‘s board of directors, the Kaya Drive host insists that he has evidence to prove that, in fact, the decision was arrived at after an investigation found faults in Mtyali’s handling of the entire HR blunder.
“Our show meeting starts at [13:00]. It’s something I instituted when I first got to Kaya. Everyone attends and if you aren’t in the building at the time, you can do so virtually…no problem.
“Mpho started missing those, literally a week after joining our show. It meant she didn’t know what was being discussed, it meant she would sometimes not have a sports trivia prepped on air and that was jeopardising the quality of the show,” Dhlomo explained.
Despite allegedly addressing his concerns with Maboi, the issues persisted. Thereafter, with the Kaya Drive team’s synergy affected by tensions between Dhlomo and Maboi, the matter was escalated beyond HR to the board of directors, who instituted an internal investigation.
“The board launched an investigation and staff members came forward to testify and I suppose this is the outcome of it,” Dhlomo added.
Neither Maboi nor Mtyali has surfaced with a statement addressing the online backlash. Here’s how social media reacted to Dhlomo’s latest workplace scandal.
