The podcasters made a joke about runner Elizabeth "Tsontso" Moselakgomo, who went missing and was later found dead.
Sol Phenduka. Picture: solphenduka/Instagram
Podcast and Chill co-host Sol Phenduka has apologised for remarks made on the podcast about a woman who was reported missing and was later found dead.
Runner Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo was reported missing after going on a run on 9 September in Rhodesfield, Kempton Park.
On Monday, 14 September, the 38-year-old was confirmed dead after her family positively identified her body at the Germiston mortuary.
The Podcast and Chill episode was recorded on Sunday, before Moselakgomo was confirmed dead.
During the episode, MacG said: “You’d think the lady would keep on running.”
Phenduka then added to the joke as they continued laughing.
“Sometimes you are running, and someone comes from the woods, from the darkness, and then snatches you. They see numbers on your chest. Someone in the woods saw that she’s got your numbers and thought, ‘Yo, we are taking this one’,” he said.
I honestly don’t find this funny. I’m utterly disgusted. I’m especially disappointed in Sol. As for MacG , I’m not shocked that he would make fun of the Kempton Park situation on his huge podcast. His platform was built on belittling and bullying Black women. pic.twitter.com/q1yAmAZd02
– La-Ndlovu (@destiny_ndlovu) September 16, 2026
Sol Phenduka’s apology
In his apology video, Phenduka acknowledged that the joke was distasteful.
“I made an unfortunate pun joke at the time. Yeah, we laughed, but it’s not funny anymore because the lady, when the story developed, her body was found in Kempton Park.”
He said making jokes about a missing person was inappropriate, particularly given the circumstances.
“Deriving a joke, be it targeted at somebody else, about a situation around a missing person is distasteful because it is a traumatic situation, especially in the context of South Africa and the unfortunate high femicide that we have.”
Fighting against GBV
Phenduka said he had previously spoken about gender-based violence (GBV) on the podcast
“I’ve always been clear where I stand on GBV on the network many times over the hundreds of episodes we’ve recorded. I’d never make light of such a tragic moment.”
He also called on men to stop violence against women.
“I just want to plead with men to stop the violence because it’s mostly men who are the perpetrators… And once again, sorry for the distasteful remarks.”
