Lesedi FM\u2019s award-winning presenter and businessman extraordinaire Motseki Mabuya has severed his contentious ties with the radio station.<\/p>\n
So toxic were the last few months behind the mic that he was barred from taking to the air for his last shows on July 27 and 28.<\/p>\n
He said a few days after announcing he would be leaving, programme manager Mannini Nyokong told him that the station had decided against allowing him to do his last two shows and say goodbye to his listeners.<\/p>\n
Mabuya told Sunday World that Lesedi was not a conducive environment for presenters, adding that the on-air talent was treated poorly.<\/p>\n
He said in his case, he was a dead man walking at the station from the day he stood up for the presenters.<\/p>\n
Mabuya said presenters and management were at a team-building session when he asked if managers believed presenters felt their support.<\/p>\n
He said he was called to a meeting, which turned out to be contract negotiations.<\/p>\n
The programme manager, the controversial Nyokong, and the business manager, Mamontha Motaung, Thuso\u2019s wife, attended the meeting.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey only offered me the weekend graveyard slot \u2013 it was a take-it-or-leave-it deal.<\/p>\n
He said Lesedi FM\u2019s on-air talent comprises popular radio personalities such as Seipati\u00a0 \u201cTwasa\u201d Soke, Thabo \u201cBundle of Joy\u201d Mokone, Nyakallo \u201cBa2cada\u201d Leine, Thuso \u201cDJ Singapore\u201d Motaung, Thabo \u201cMr Cool\u201d Kofa and Dikeledi \u201cLadysosky\u201d Mageseni, among others.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Nyokong has clashed with Nyokong, Kofa, and Ba2cada and axed Phinel \u2018DJ Finzo\u2019 Sefatsa and Nkunyana \u2018Skuzabel\u2019 Nkunyana.\u201d said Mabuya.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as there\u2019s a presenter on air, that\u2019s all that matters to management,\u201d he added, adding that he was the only one reshuffled even though his shows were doing well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI suspect my enquiry may have contributed to my subsequent reshuffling. That reshuffling not only placed me in a lower-rated time slot but also reduced my salary even though my shows performed well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He told Sunday World that during that contract negotiation, \u201cI was informed, \u2018we are not going to discuss the previous contract or your performance.\u2019 I was just offered a new contract to host two weekend shows from midnight to 2am.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mabuya, who was born in Qwaqwa and is the former station manager of Lesotho commercial radio station Bokamoso FM and founder of the now-defunct Hope FM community radio station in the Vaal, said that the station was not open to negotiation.<\/p>\n
\u201cEither accept the offer or decline it,\u201d he said. \u201cI agreed to the new terms, which included a commitment by the business manager to review the show after three months.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy mid-July, no review had taken place, nor was there any communication regarding a change in plans. I firmly believe my reshuffling was punitive, an attempt to silence or teach me a lesson.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had hoped for a transparent, performance-based explanation for the changes, but none was provided. So, after reflecting, I concluded that leaving was the best decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe show I was moved to wasn\u2019t even aligned with my capabilities. I confronted every injustice and instance of bullying head-on, and that made me a target.<\/p>\n
\u201cLesedi FM was a bad experience for me as far as radio is concerned. I left because I was no longer needed. I think I was too much for them, and they didn\u2019t know how to handle me.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom being introduced as the award-winning broadcaster when I arrived to being reduced to a weekend graveyard slot, that should tell you the story of my time at Lesedi.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a great experience with the listeners, as they fuelled every show and kept me going until the end. I fought a good fight,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n