What do jailed former president Jacob Zuma and alleged public violence instigator former radio DJ Ngizwe Mchunu have in common other than their current woes with the law?
First, both are from Nkandla in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
Second, they are polygamists and popular public ambassadors of the Zulu culture.
Third, they are self-proclaimed lovers of Maskandi music, a favourite genre among the Nguni and countryside folk.
Those were about the only things that linked the duo until recent events.
Mchunu now faces a charge of incitement to commit violence, for which he briefly appeared at the Randburg magistrate’s court on Tuesday before his case was postponed until next Wednesday.
Mchunu had also become known for changing allegiance between Maskandi artists, especially between bitter rivals.
But who is Mchunu and how did he get into the legal fix he finds himself in today?
Mchunu rose to fame when he became a Maskandi music radio presenter/DJ on Africa’s biggest radio station, UkhoziFM.
In 2009 as part of his job at the radio station, he visited the US to congratulate Barack Obama who had been the first African-American president in the history of that country.
Upon his return, Mchunu edited his self-praises to boast about meeting Obama, and this remains engraved in his praises to this day.
One of the highlights of his career while on UkhoziFM was when he, together with Bheka Mchunu, hosted then president Zuma on Sigiya Ngengoma Maskandi music show, which was also broadcast on SABC news channel 404.
In 2018, Mchunu was suspended from UkhoziFM before he was fired from his job for alleged misbehaviour.
Among other acts of misconduct were Mchunu’s alleged leaking of internal information as well as announcing the station’s plans for Mroza Fakude, the first Maskandi musician to win the station’s Song of the Year accolade, before approval.
After his booting from radio, Mchunu continued using his big name (especially among Maskandi circles) to do private gigs such as MC-ing of events and functions.
His involvement with Maskandi music continued, albeit on a rollercoaster ride and a controversial one at that.
When Mchunu was not being accused of stealing songs from Maskandi musicians and giving/selling some to their competitors, he was accused of fuelling beef between musicians.
Mchunu had also become known for changing allegiance between Maskandi artists, especially between bitter rivals, and was accused of trading the internal secrets of one camp with another.
His biggest fallout in this regard was with Maskandi’s most popular artist, Khuzani Mpungose, in 2019.
Allegations of sabotage abounded between the two of them.
Mchunu would come out the winner from this fallout, emerging as a close friend of Khuzani’s arch-rival, Mthandeni Manqele.
That same year, Mchunu started his Ngizwe Online Radio, which was characterised by attacks on Maskandi musicians he disliked while promoting those he favoured.
He abandoned his online radio platform as he rose to become a social media sensation in 2020, particularly on Facebook.
His deliberate verbal conflicts with various Maskandi musicians escalated and became his way of survival during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Mchunu, in his quest to diversify his skills as an entertainer, ventured into live Facebook videos, talking about everything and anything under the sun.
With that move, his skill set had expanded from just radio DJ and Maskandi promoter to include content creator.
His live broadcast antics on Facebook continued well into 2021 and his popularity grew, he having also become a co-host with rich and famous Durban-based traditional healer “Dr Khehlelezi” on VumaFM.
To capitalise on his growing public profile, Mchunu launched a YouTube channel just as he also entered the political commentary space after Zuma’s 15-month sentence by the apex court.
Mchunu was among the well-known faces at Zuma’s home in the days after his sentencing as his supporters insisted he not go to jail.
For Mchunu, it was an opportunity to exploit the situation to feed his Facebook and YouTube platforms as a content creator while also trying his luck in politics.
And what better chance to do so than in the name of one of SA’s most popular politicians since 1994?
When Zuma eventually subjected himself to the law to begin his 15-month sentence, Mchunu, who had been co-hosting at Zuma’s last public address as a free man, would become a prominent figure of the #FreeZuma movement, using his social media influence.
One of those manoeuvres would be what landed him in hot water on July 12 when he hosted an “address to the nation” demanding Zuma’s release and setting ultimatums for the state to comply to.
In his own version, the police were already on his tail when he suddenly changed the time and venue for his address after allegedly surviving a high-speed chase by law enforcement when he landed at the OR Tambo Airport from Durban.
He returned to Durban on a private jet in an arranged escape to evade police while bodyguards and one of his high-profile friends waited for his arrival.
Mchunu continued with his Facebook and YouTube Live posts for the whole of last week, claiming police were after him and that he was in hiding because he was innocent.
That was before his shock announcement on July 16 that he would hand himself over to police three days later, which he did.
And that marked the beginning of a new chapter in Mchunu’s eventful life in domestic showbiz as he now awaits his next court appearance billed for July 28.
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