Radio Company news South Africa

Gagasi FM statement on the on-air protest and the way forward

Gagasi FM management has engaged with Njabs Zwane, Bright Ntuli and Zisto following their on-air protest last week. Under normal circumstances, such actions would have necessitated a direction towards a disciplinary process however having engaged them, and getting to understand the reality of the moment that sparked their reaction, the management has come to realise the depth of the damage that violence against women is causing in society. The message that they were driving was clear; "Imagine a KZN without female voices", hence their walk off from on-air.

Gagasi FM would also like to put it on record that the on-air protest had nothing to do with the internal working environment within the station. But, it had everything to do with the continuous women abuse that we are currently witnessing around the country. This is no longer about an individual, and whether you are a male or female or whether your hands are clean or not. This has become an issue for all of us and it requires all of us to take a stand and say something needs to happen, and demand action.

We also noted the social media posts from the Durban Survivors page where claims of sexual abuse by two of our male presenters were made. The management has engaged the two presenters concerned on these reports and we will be closely monitoring further developments, if any, on the matter. Unfortunately given the nature of the platform that was used to publicise such claims, we are unable to reach out to the alleged victims to get their side of the story.

While we understand the sensitivity of these matters, and we firmly maintain our stand against women abuse in any form or shape, we do have a duty to act within the confines of the law.

As stated above, this is not about any individual, it is not about any Gagasi FM male presenter, it is about a crisis that we are all facing. And with that comes a very critical question, what are we all doing about it, Senzani?

We have engaged our female and male presenters regarding this pertinent question; “Senzani?” and we will be embarking on a campaign that addresses this question, using our platforms to engage KZN to help us come up with a solution to this plight.

On Friday all our female presenters will be back on-air to drive the national conversation around this.

We therefore call upon our listeners, government, justice system, political parties, NGOs, religious formations and all sectors of the society to join the #Senzani movement. Let’s take it to the streets, together we can do this.

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