{"id":9202,"date":"2022-01-20T10:02:43","date_gmt":"2022-01-20T10:02:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/sabc\/?p=9202"},"modified":"2022-01-20T10:03:02","modified_gmt":"2022-01-20T10:03:02","slug":"media-statement-umhlobo-wenene-fm-bids-farewell-to-radio-legends-and-opens-up-the-industry-to-new-talent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/media-statement-umhlobo-wenene-fm-bids-farewell-to-radio-legends-and-opens-up-the-industry-to-new-talent\/","title":{"rendered":"MEDIA STATEMENT | UMHLOBO WENENE FM BIDS FAREWELL TO RADIO LEGENDS AND OPENS UP THE INDUSTRY TO NEW TALENT"},"content":{"rendered":"

Johannesburg \u2013 Thursday, 20 January 2022 –<\/strong> Umhlobo Wenene FM would like to announce the retirement of Nomthunzi \u201cMama ka Ma-Asi\u201d Vuza, who has decided to hang up her gloves after 33 years at Umhlobo Wenene FM, having started with the station when it was still called Radio Xhosa. The legendary presenter began her career as an educator in 1969 and joined the SABC in 1989 to host the show Eyentsatshana until 1990. In 1991, she was contracted to present Ezamakhosikazi, and as the years rolled by, she became an important figure not only in the station\u2019s success, but also in the lives of many of the station\u2019s listeners.<\/p>\n

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Known for her unique phrases \u201cimithwalo nee ntaba\u201d and \u201cuyazi kangakanani i-bhayibhile yakho?\u201d, her listeners have always been intrigued by the youthful voice of \u201cMama ka Ma-Asi\u201d- Ma-Asi being her eldest daughter – despite her mature age.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

During her three-decade long tenure with Umhlobo Wenene FM, \u201cMama ka Ma-Asi\u201d was instrumental in structuring the women\u2019s programs unit. She was also at the forefront of implementing systems that have allowed the station to continuously deliver on the mandate to inform and educate the nation, as well as groom some of the station\u2019s best female presenters. Her contribution to the station led to historic performance figures when her show LelikaYehova Ihlabathi, exceeded the two million audience mark back in 2016. Other notable shows she contributed towards were Hlala eThembeni, which aired on Mondays, and Omama nelizwi on Thursdays. Her Friday show always turned into an in-studio kitchen and was supported by many well-known sponsors.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mama ka Ma-Asi exceeded all expectations and matured like fine wine over the decades. Her hard work and dedication to the ministry of religion and women\u2019s programs, caught the attention of many, resulting in Nomthunzi becoming a recipient of multiple awards before her retirement. These include:<\/p>\n

o\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Methodist Church of South Africa special award<\/p>\n

o\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Inyibiba Woman of Valour award<\/p>\n

o\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Intlalo ka Xhosa award presented by His Royal Highness King Xolilizwe Sigcawu<\/p>\n

o\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 SABC Best Presenter- Kiddies show award<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Apart from community recognition, Mama Ka Ma-Asi also touched the lives of many listeners through the station\u2019s CSI projects, which changed the lives of many families both financially and emotionally. She also contributed significantly to the success of many entrepreneurs, whose businesses grew because of being profiled on her shows.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Another big loss for the station is the retirement of Nomathamsanqa Rweqana, a radio veteran who was appointed as a religious program\u2019s presenter in 2008. Her passion for the ministry of religion led to additional administrative roles at the station, which included tasks such as recording of devotions, prologues, sermons and Imvuselelo. She also presented the Thursday show Mna nendlu yam siyakuMkhonza uYehova. Nomathamsanqa is known by her listeners for her midnight knocks, which she uses as an art to keep her listeners awake. The phrase \u201cNkqo, nkqo ndikwakho\u201d is synonymous with her show, Ndingu Yehova iGqirha Lakho, which airs at 3am. She speaks fondly of her shows and listeners but says some of the stories they share have been traumatic. She is however content to have been a part of the healing process of many listeners. \u201cReverend Rweqana\u201d, as she fondly referred to, is a recipient of a Hall of Fame award from the Liberty Radio Awards in 2017.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Business Manager of Eastern Cape Combo, which includes Umhlobo Wenene FM, Mr Loyiso Bala, said: \u201cI consider myself fortunate to have worked alongside such broadcasting legends. It is unfortunate to lose such great institutional memory, but we must allow colleagues who feel their race has come to an end to gracefully hand over the baton. We thank them for all of their hard work over the years and wish them the best in their future endeavours.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As the two legendary presenters call time on their illustrious careers and leave an audience of over 4,5 million listeners.\u00a0 As such, the station will embark on an exciting process of searching for brand new talent, set to be launched in January 2022.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The talent search will be developmental in nature and help groom fresh and young talent. The station will be looking for three female presenters, one between the ages of 10 \u2013 15 and two between the 25 \u2013 40 age group, to join a cast of well-known household names at Umhlobo Wenene FM. demos can be sent to demos@uwfm.co.za<\/a> and more details on how to enter will follow on the station\u2019s social media platforms. Media enquiries can be sent to cwy@sabc.za<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Issued By:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Group Communications <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Media Enquiries:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Ms. Gugu Ntuli (Group Executive: Corporate Affairs and <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Marketing)<\/strong><\/p>\n

NtuliGM@sabc.co.za<\/strong><\/a> |T. 011 714 3311|C. 071 877 0513\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Johannesburg \u2013 Thursday, 20 January 2022 – Umhlobo Wenene FM would like to announce the retirement of Nomthunzi \u201cMama ka Ma-Asi\u201d Vuza, who has decided to hang up her gloves after 33 years at Umhlobo Wenene FM, having started with the station when it was still called Radio Xhosa. The legendary presenter began her career […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":8918,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9202"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9202"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9204,"href":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9202\/revisions\/9204"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}