Unathi Nkayi breaks her silence on Kaya 959 firing and GBV allegations

“GBV had nothing to do with the matter I never alleged at any time that Sizwe committed any act of gender-based violence against me.”

26 November 2021 - 18:12 By Constance Gaanakgomo
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
Unathi Nkayi has broken her silence regarding false GBV allegations levelled against her
Unathi Nkayi has broken her silence regarding false GBV allegations levelled against her
Image: Gallo Images/Oupa Bopape

Former Kaya 959 radio host Unathi Nkayi has broken her silence on reports surrounding her firing from the station.

Unathi was booted from her midday show earlier this month, due to “certain conduct that rendered the relationship intolerable going forward” and the station citing “a breakdown of trust between the two parties”.

A source told TshisaLIVE that the “certain incidents” alluded to by the station referred to Unathi having accused former friend and Kaya Drive host Sizwe Dhlomo of verbal abuse.

Taking to social media on Friday, Unathi posted a video of herself reading a statement addressing the claims.

She claimed to have been silenced by Kaya and said she could not speak about her firing publicly because of contractual obligations freelancers had with the station. 

“I was specifically told that I cannot use my platform to share my version of events. The only matter I will address, because it is very important to me, is the theme of GBV that keeps on coming up.”

She alleged that “GBV had nothing to do with the matter”.

“I never alleged at any time that Sizwe committed any act of gender-based violence against me.”

“Sizwe knows this. Kaya knows this. But when Sizwe's comments led to people thinking that I made false accusations against Sizwe regarding GBV and neither Sizwe nor Kaya do anything about the narrative, or to correct the narrative, I'm obviously compelled to speak up.

“For the record, Sizwe and I both submitted in writing allegations against each other, some founded and some found not to be from both of us.”

She said she has handed the matter to her attorney to handle.

Sizwe earlier this week took to Twitter to allegedly set the record straight after a City Press report alleged that Unathi and Sizwe were involved in a heated argument. It claimed Unathi allegedly laid a formal complaint with the HR department, accusing Sizwe of verbal abuse and unprofessional conduct after he was late for his show.

Sizwe said he had nothing to hide and the City Press report was “mostly true”. 


subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.