Before joining Kaya, Sol Phenduka had branched out into podcasting after being suspended by 5FM in 2015 for offensive comments.
Kaya FM has suspended broadcaster Sol Phenduka with immediate effect.
“Kaya 959 confirms that presenter Sol Phenduka has been placed on suspension with immediate effect. This step has been taken pending the outcome of an internal process currently underway,” read a statement shared with The Citizen by Ian Bredenkamp, who handles PR for the station.
When asked about the reason behind the suspension and its duration, Bredenkamp said they would release a follow-up statement “once the internal process is concluded”.
“The station is committed to following due process, and no further details will be shared at this stage.”
Sol Phenduka, whose real name is Solomzi Thandubuntu Phenduka, co-hosts the station’s breakfast show Siz the World with Sizwe Dhlomo alongside sportscaster Mpho Maboi and newsreader Mfundo Mabalane.
Sol Phenduka’s manager hadn’t responded to The Citizen‘s requests for an interview at the time of publishing.
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Sol on Kaya
Sol Phenduka joined the Gauteng-based station in 2022 as co-host to Dineo Ranaka in the breakfast show as a traffic reporter.
Before joining Kaya, the former Big Brother contestant had branched out into podcasting after being suspended by 5FM in 2015.
His suspension on the national radio station came after he made offensive comments.
The offensive comments he made were about the murders of the Van Breda family in Stellenbosch. The surviving member of the Van Breda family was then 16-year-old Marli van Breda.
“Sol referred to her survival as ‘fresh’ because she was the only person who can identify her killer,” read 5FM’s statement at the time.
“His comments, which included him saying she was ‘gorgeous’ and that he would ‘like to axe her out’, but that he ‘wouldn’t X her’, have been seen as insensitive, with social media accusing him of making jokes far too soon after such a tragic event.”
The Van Breda family were victims of an axe attack.
