Controversial former Ukhozi FM sports presenter and businessman Owen Ndlovu has entered the fray on the ongoing Song Of The Year competition at the station. Ndlovu was fired by the station and his Song Of The Year contract was canceled by the SABC.
CANCELLED BY THE SABC
Ndlovu introduced a Song Of The Year Competition in 2016 where the SABC would do a voting competition using an SMS line, with all 18 SABC radio stations participating in this competition. All radio stations were going to use the same SMS line provided by his company which was 33175. The winner of the competition was going to be announced on New Year's Eve (31 December) every year. But in 2017, the SABC announced that they were going to investigate all contracts signed by Ndlovu's company Michael Owen Productions in the past years and how the contracts were awarded. Speaking on his live feed on Facebook on Friday, Ndlovu accused the SABC Head of the Channel of protecting Ukhozi FM station manager Sibongi Ngcobo. SABC Acting Group Executive and Corporate Affairs Mmoni Seapolela said that the SABC preferred not to engage further on the various allegations levelled against Ngcobo. "Whilst the SABC would prefer not to engage further on the various allegations levelled against Ukhozi FM Business Manager, it has become increasingly important to respond given setting the record straight following further allegations. On Thursday, 28 December 2023, the SABC issued a media statement noting the aforesaid allegations. In the aforesaid media statement, the SABC categorically stated that, although some of the allegations are personal, the corporation will, where it deems it necessary, look into some of them. To this end, the SABC appeals to anyone who has any evidence of such allegations to come forward with same," she said.
TAKING MASKANDI ARTIST TO COURT
He further accused award-winning Maskandi artist Khuzani Mpungose of buying votes and threatened to take him to court if he did not withdraw from the competition. "I hereby request that Khuzani Mpungose must withdraw from the Song Of The Year 10. Khuzani must stop competing in the Song Of The Year because he won it before. The last time he won the Song Of The Year Competition he voted for himself 250,000 times, that's fraud. The public should be voting for him. People are the ones that should be voting. When he won that 2021 competition he requested me not to stop the SABC to court over it," he said. Ndlovu said that Mthandeni Manqele was the favorite this year with his song titled Paris where he features Lwah Ndlunkulu.
'SMEAR CAMPAIGN AGAINST SABC RADIO'
Seapolela the SABC has also noted new allegations, through Ndlovu's live feed regarding the New Year crossover song. She said the public broadcaster terminated a three-year event sponsorship agreement with the hosting of the SABC Summer Song of the Year Event, which lapsed at the end of March 2019. "Therefore, the SABC can confirm that it does not have any contractual relationship with this individual. However, the SABC has noted a pattern in the past couple of years, of continuous various unsubstantiated allegations against SABC Radio Management by the same individual, raised around the same period of year and always just before SABC Radio stations implement their new year cross-over-songs or what is termed as song of the year. This appears to be a deliberate smearing campaign strategy against SABC Radio and its employees for reasons better known to this individual," she said. She further said participating radio stations have campaigns that are dubbed in different names and none of them is labelled SABC Summer Song of the Year as was previously known during the three-year period in which the contract was active.
THE MATTER OF SONG OF THE YEAR STILL IN COURT
According to Seapolela, there is a continuous dispute between the SABC and Ndlovu on the ownership of the SABC Summer Song of the Year and the matter is still pending before the courts. "The SABC reiterates that no external party came to the SABC and introduced the concept of SABC radio stations playing the top song/s as the country crosses over into a new year. It must be further noted that the SABC Song of the Year initiative has always been implemented by the SABC for many years whereby SABC Radio stations closed the year with music hits countdown," she added. Seapolela further said: "The SABC would like to reiterate its commitment to assuring the public and relevant stakeholders that the song of the year campaigns on all the participating radio stations are subject to stringent criteria setting processes and sound measures have been put in place for the counting of the votes and announcement of the winners."
