Maskandi musician Khuzani “Indlamlenze” Mpungose was booed and pelted with missiles on stage when he was to perform his song Umjolo Lowo which won Ukhozi FM song of the year on New Year’s Eve.
The incident happened during the Gumba Festival hosted at the Umhlathuze Sports Complex in Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal.
Damp squib
He was booed off stage and when he wanted the crowd to sing along, he was embarrassingly ignored. What was envisaged to be a joyous crossover party with a song turned into a damp squib.
Revelers could be heard shouting and yelling at festival programme director Ukhozi FM DJs Tshatha Ngobe after announcing Mpungose has won the controversy-tainted competition.
Nobody apparently got hurt during the throwing of objects on stage. King Cetshwayo mayor Thami Ntuli and Umhlathuze mayor Xolani Ngwezi and Ngobe had their hands full trying to prevent the situation from spiraling out of control.
It became clear that many from the crowd had been rooting for Thukzin’s iPlan or Paris by Mthandeni “Igcokama Elisha” Manqele to emerge triumphant. Ukhozi FM DJs Mroza Buthelezi and Selbeyonce Mkhize announced on air that Mpungose got most votes than the rest which made the Top 10.
Mpungose amassed 993 667 votes, Mthandeni bagged 746 338 votes while Thukzin was on third place with 90 422 votes.
Mpungose thanked his “Blue Nation” (his fans who usually clad in blue T-shirts and track pants) for voting in numbers.
Victory sows divisions
Mpungose’s win has divided opinions amongst music lovers, with some believing the rigging of votes is at play. Ukhozi FM is the most hated radio station at the moment, if comments on social media is anything to go by.
Two days before SABC Radio stations ran the Song of the Year competition, the public broadcaster stated it stood behind the stations across the country amid submission controversies.
If further assured the public and relevant stakeholders that the Song of the Year campaigns on all participating radio stations are subject to stringent criteria and processes and sound measures have been put in place for the counting of the votes and announcement of the winner.
Ukhozi FM, in particular, was the mostly watched over its choice with some artists even threatening not to take part anymore should a maskandi song once again ruled the roost. Listeners accuse some radio stations of favouritism by sidelining some popular songs.
Source: News365.co.za
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