ZBC Presenter Suspended Over King Lobengula Taunt Avoids Axe
The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) has retained Farai Magada, who was suspended together with Victoria Manase in January 2024.
Presenting Good Morning Zimbabwe (GMZ) on ZTV, Victoria Manase claimed live on air, that Ndebele King Lobengula Khumalo, a 19th-century Ndebele monarch, sold the country’s mineral resources to British imperialists for sugar.
Co-host Farai Magada then added that colonialism was justified to some extent as they could now “sit in front of cameras and wear proper clothes, not animal skins.”
The Standard reported a source as saying Magada had been retained but moved to Classic 263 radio station. Said the source:
Magada is back, but she has been reassigned to Classic 263, while Manase has left the organisation since she was a part-time presenter.
Magada went for a disciplinary hearing and was given a written warning.
Political analyst Effie Ncube told The Standard that the media should unite the nation instead of perpetuating harmful stereotypes that sow seeds of division. He said:
While I do not know what happened behind the scenes and whether or not the presenter was given history lessons first, as a country we should not embrace hate speech and ignore the pain it causes in others.
The media should be used for uniting and building the nation and not for fanning the flames of hate that will turn us against each other.
The remarks the presenters made on national television were demeaning and provocative and in clear violation of the laws of the country.
Ncube added that the Government and ZBC were supposed to issue statements clarifying the circumstances of Magada’s return. He said:
Whether or not she has successfully been rehabilitated, and what has happened in the case she was implicated in.
Silence may be wrongly interpreted leading to the deepening of social polarisation. This is a serious matter that should be handled with the greatest care.
Mbuso Fuzwayo, the secretary-general of Matabeleland-based human rights watchdog, Ibhetshu LikaZulu, said:
I am not surprised she is back at work. The government is the culprit because they go to Pupu and build a plaque for General Mtshana, little is said about the king. The putting, and unveiling of the plaque is a missed opportunity to correct the misinformation.
She publicly said what they say in private, and it’s a long-held belief. They always make fun of the Ndebele kingdom, the creation of non-existent kings is a counter or reactionary response to the Ndebele monarchy.
There was also an uproar when a local publication fused an image of CCC activist Sengezo Tshabangu, who claims to be the party’s Interim Secretary General, and King Lobengula while holding a pack of sugar.
In 2023, Magada was at the centre of a sexual harassment scandal after she reported the then ZBC director of radio services Robson Mhandu.
Mhandu was suspended after he allegedly demanded sexual favours from her in exchange for approving her transfer request.
Audio recordings and WhatsApp messages shared as evidence suggested that Mhandu used his position of power, and threatened to send Magada back to Bulawayo if she refused.
Mhandu referred to Magada also known as Farie Jules as his wife and constantly pestered her for sex.
He told her that she needed to “motivate me by work and number two, the obvious… it’s a combination of the two.”
Mhandu was eventually let go by ZBC after his contract expired on 29 February 2024.
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