Maskandi well-known artist Khuzani Mpungose has accused Ukhozi FM business manager Sbongi Ngcobo of sidelining him on the station.
The musician from Nkandla, who has won Ingoma Ehlukanisa Unyaka top 10 twice through his hit songs, has shocked many by announcing that he’ll no longer be part of the Ukhozi FM competition because of Sbongi.
Ukhozi FM recently announced new rules for Ingoma Ehlukanisa Unyaka top 10, saying only songs released from January to October will be part of the top 10.
Khuzani said the rules were created to exclude him because he’ll release his new album on Friday, 15 November.
The Ijele hitmaker alleges Sbongi not only sidelines him but also those close to him.
Khuzani said he thinks the problem started when some people falsely accused Sbongi of doing favours for him to win Ingoma Ehlukanisa Unyaka top 10.
“Now, I think she’s making it a point to show she never did me any favours. Those who are close to me are also sidelined because now she doesn’t want anything to do with me.
“I submitted my music from my 2023 latest album Aliboli Icala to the station, and it wasn’t playlisted on time. There’s a feature on a maskandi show where people request songs to be played, but those who were requesting my songs were told to stay away from my music,” he said.
Khuzani said the sidelining has bothered him for a long time, and he arranged a meeting in August with Sbongi to ask her what her problem is, but he didn’t get an answer.
He said he was forced to part ways with his two artists signed under his record label because their music was also sidelined. He said Ukhozi FM must not feel pressured to work hard to prove a point that they are not doing favours for him.
“To make peace, I’ve decided not to be a part of the Ukhozi competition because I see our work is tainting other musicians who are not involved.
“Jumbo has recently released a song featuring me and submitted it to Ukhozi FM, and it’s not playlisted because he featured me.”
“There’s also a new rule introduced for Ingoma Ehlukanisa Unyaka top 10 that only songs that are playlisted on the system are eligible. I’m not sure what will happen as it’s still not playlisted, but it was submitted before the new rules,” he said.
SABC Head of Communication and Stakeholder Relations, Mmoni Seapolelo, said the SABC’s business operations, including the day-to-day running of radio stations, are anchored on policies and procedures approved by the organisation.
“Therefore, it’s impossible for Ms Ngcobo to make individual decisions as alleged because there’s no business manager of any radio station who is empowered to make decisions or create procedures that are not in line with approved policies.
“Ukhozi FM’s playlist, like all other radio stations, is guided by a strict music policy which enjoins a music committee of the station to determine the playlist.”
“It’s therefore not possible for any individual outside the committee to make a sole decision on the playlist,” she said.
She said all other decisions pertaining to the station’s programming are also made by the station’s management.
She said it must be noted that the station strives to continuously improve all its campaigns, and changes to the rules of the Ingoma Ehlukanisa Unyaka campaign are not made by an individual but by station management based on the need to improve the campaign and not exclude any artist.
“Therefore, allegations that Ms Ngcobo has reviewed the rule to exclude any artist are not true. The rules are clear in articulating eligible entrants,” she said.
