Their radio station has made many controversial headlines this year, and things have not simmered down. On 25 November, Kaya 959 General Manager Sibongile Mtyali was fired after being reported by Afternoon Drive-time show host Sizwe Dhlomo to management.
According to an insider, "There are other incidences that happened, but the one that stands out is a fight that happened between Sizwe and Mpho Maboi where Sibongile refused to fire Mpho. Sizwe's show starts at 15:00 and he wanted Mpho to come to work at 13:00 and that's impossible because she is a mother and has other work engagements besides Kaya," the insider tells ZiMoja. "She is the sports host, not a c0-host so why would she be expected to be there that early?"?

FIRED AFTER THREE MONTH-LONG HEARING?

After Sizwe allegedly jumped processes, the source says he went straight to the board to report Sibongile." The board of the commercial radio station at Kaya 959 then fired the station manager without a hearing. This is where the issues comes in. Sibongile was then offered seven months pay and she refused because she knows, she was unfailr dismissed," he adds.

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BLAMING SIZWE AGAIN

This is not the first time, Sizwe is involved in the dismissal of a colleague.
He was at the centre of the dismissal of media personality Unathi Nkayi earlier this year after the two had a conflict after a heated argument broke out between Unathi and Sizwe and ignited the chain of events that led to Unathi eventually losing her job. Unathi laid a formal complaint with the station's HR department, accusing Sizwe of being unprofessional and verbally abusing her after he was late for his show.
Sizwe then took to social media to tell his side of the story and how he and Unathi got along in the beginning. He said he was as surprised when Unathi laid a formal complaint with HR. Kaya issued a statement saying, "certain incidents had occurred, which resulted in the breakdown of trust between the two parties'.
"Nkayi's contract has ended prematurely due to certain conduct that rendered the relationship intolerable going forward. Kaya 959 can confirm that certain incidents had occurred, which resulted in the breakdown of trust between the two parties. The business can further confirm that due process was followed, and the decision was therefore made to part ways with Ms. Nkayi,' read the statement.

WHO IS SIBONGILE??

Sibongile Mtyali previously worked at Mereo FM and has been working at Kaya since June 2021. Sibongile currently held a dual role as Station Manager at SABC's Metro FM and Acting General Manager for SABC (Radio). Both Sizwe and Sibongile were unavailable for comment.

SIZWE'S SIDE OF THE STORY

In a thread on Twitter, Sizwe shares his side of the story. "Okay, let's correct some inaccuracies. We had a great sportspersonin Sandile Van Heerden. Amazing guy who always pitched in with the rest of the team we had built to contribute to the rest of the show and station,' he says. "Sibongilethen called me into a meeting and said that Mpho would be joining the team,meaning that Sandile would leave & asked what I thought about that, I said,"no problem, mina I'll work with whomever you give me'. No reason was given for Sandile's removal. Okay, cool.'
Sizwe says it is true that his show meetings start at 13:00. "It's something I instituted when I first got to Kaya. Every one 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,and it meant she would sometimes not have a sports trivia prepped on air and that was jeopardising the quality of the show,' he says. "So, I spoke to her twice (on record) and when she continued, I went to her manager for him to Everyoneaddress it. She then skipped her manager and called Sbo instead. I then asked why did you remove a person who obviously could deliver for someone who couldn't?'he adds. "Sbo's response was "you will work with whomever we tell you to'.Again I asked, "if everyone else can make the meeting, what makes this newcomerto our team so special?' (again, I have all of this on record).' The following day, Sizwe says that HR tried to send him an email stating that their show meeting should be moved to accommodate Mpho and that he should no longer beinvolved in the music department as he had always been. That he shouldn't be atwork from midday anyway. "I reported that directly to the board, copying bothSbo and HR. The board launched an investigation, and staff members came forwardto testify and I suppose this is the outcome of it,' he says.