Thobela FM gets listeners hot under the collar

The popular Polokwane-based Thobela FM may have chewed more than it could swallow.

It all started with an invitation to listeners to vote for a popular township ballad to be played as Song of the Year at midnight, New Year’s Eve.

Predictably, several hundred listeners had voted for King Monada’s “Malwedhe”.

But alas! The honchos at Thobela FM instead took all and sundry by surprise at midnight, choosing instead to play likewise popular — in all fairness — “Skeleton Moves” by Master KG.

The choice by Thobela FM triggered a social media backlash, with many listeners expressing their displeasure at the whole thing.

As recent as Monday 7 January, Thobela FM somewhat innocently posted a discussion topic on its Facebook page, to the effect that should parents choose undergraduate courses for their
offspring.

More often than not, respondents used that portal to bemoan the New Year’s Eve issue.

Thobela FM had at the time of going to press, suspended both producer Alpheus Mailula and presenter Kwenisto Makgaga, according to mainstream media reports.

In Modimolle on New Year’s Eve, revellers were seen deliberately throwing themselves into puddles of rain water, in celebration of the “idibala (faint)” lyrics of the popular “Malwedhe” song.

— The BEAT