Vuma FM Sets the Record Straight on Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma’s Contract: “Not a Dismissal”

• After much speculation, radio station Vuma FM set the record straight and informed South Africa about Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma’s contract following her axing
• They noted that the decision to remove Jacinta was not at the hands of external parties, as many have alleged
• KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane had been at the centre of the firing after Jacinta's campaign against illegal immigration and protests at a Durban hospital
• Jacinta, who worked at the KZN radio station for six years, released her own statement, noting that she received her termination letter on 15 July

KwaZulu-Natal-based radio broadcaster Vuma FM has entered the conversation regarding radio presenter Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma’s recent departure from the station. They released a statement to set the record straight about Jacinta's contract.

Posting the statement on their Facebook account on Monday, 21 July, Vuma FM revealed that their decision not to renew Jacinta's contract as a presenter was "not a dismissal but a natural conclusion of an independent contractor's term."

Read also

KZN Health MEC at the centre of Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma's axing from Vuma FM

Vuma FM's statement further read that all Vuma FM presenters are subject to annual renewals at the station's discretion, which was regarded as a standard practice in the radio world.

Furthermore, the radio station mentioned that they based line-up changes on internal, yearly evaluations and emphasised that it was not at the hands of external parties.

The above may be in reference to allegations that KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane pressured the radio station to fire the activist after her March and March movement actively campaigned against illegal immigration.

According to the publication Sunday World, the politician voiced her disapproval following the protests at Addington Hospital in Durban, which painted her in a bad light. A senior official at Vuma FM alleged that Nomagugu threatened to cut government advertising if Jacinta was not axed.

The anonymous source claimed:

"She made it clear that if the station did not dismiss her, she would not only withdraw Department of Health adverts but also persuade other KZN government departments to do the same thing."

Read also

VUMA FM fires Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma after activism stirs tensions; Fans react: "A blessing in disguise"

Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma addresses Vuma FM departure

On 20 July, Jacinta released a statement stating that she received a letter of termination on 15 July, with her last day being 31 July, after working at the station for six years.

She alleged that the letter did not provide any reasons for why she was let go. However, it came to her attention that an external entity or individual had lodged a complaint.

"I shall not deal with the details of that complaint at this stage."

Take a look at Vuma FM's statement in the Facebook post below:

Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma claimed foreigners are taking jobs

In August last year, Briefly News reported that Jacinta shared her concerns that foreign nationals were taking South Africans' jobs. She noted that the state of the country was making her uncomfortable as foreigners dominated certain industries.

She stated that she was not xenophobic but was trying to get people to wake up and see that employers were not hiring South Africans.

Source: Briefly News