Cape Town — There was an air of mystery about whether Thato Sikwane, better known as DJ Fresh, would return to South African radio station Metro FM, but now the air has been cleared.
In a shocking move, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) released a statement confirming that his contract has been "terminated".
DJ Fresh was in hot water after he used foul language on air on his popular Metro FM breakfast show, resulting in him being temporarily suspended. The radio host was told to submit a public apology for his foul language use and serve a further three weeks suspended. The broadcaster said that he refused to apologise, but DJ Fresh says he offered a public apology.
Who is lying?
Angry fans flooded Twitter every morning with messages under the hashtag #BringBackDJFresh.
The full SABC statement:
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) would like to announce that it has terminated the contract of Mr. Thato Sikwane also known as DJ Fresh, with immediate effect.
The termination follows unsuccessful engagements between SABC Radio Management and Mr. Thato Sikwane, subsequent to his usage of offensive language on-air, resulting in the SABC being found guilty and sanctioned by the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) for contravention of clause 6 of the BCCSA's Code of Conduct. In addition his conduct brought the SABC into disrepute.
Mr. Sikwane was afforded an opportunity to remedy his contractual breaches, which he failed and/or refused to do. This conduct resulted in the irretrievable breakdown of the trust relations between the SABC and himself.
In a letter dated 28 June 2019, Mr. Sikwane's lawyers further stated "it is our client's instruction that he must either return to work immediately, alternatively, that upon his commencement on the 15th of July 2019, it must be emphatically understood that no apology will be tendered". This is contrary to Mr. Sikwane's statement released on 08 July 2019.
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Ms. Nada Wotshela, Group Executive: Radio stated "the SABC continues to be committed to ensuring sound governance and internal controls irrespective of an employee's or freelancer's position. The SABC will communicate in due course who will take over METRO FM's breakfast show, and we are grateful to the team who have held the fort during this period."
The SABC remains committed to enhancing the growth of its on-air personalities brands across all its platforms. This will be done in line with the SABC's policies and procedures and it must be understood that when an Independent Contractor breaches a contract of engagement, the SABC will invoke the provisions of the same contract in line with consequence management.
Rumours have been circulating that DJ Fresh has signed a contract with Kaya FM. But for now, we wait with bated breath on DJ Fresh's next move!
UPDATE: DJ Fresh has issued another statement with thanks to his fans, and that they'll only have to wait until August 1 for his "brand new show".
