The music of Sjava will still be played on SABC
The SABC will continue to play the music of Sjava, opting to let the law take its course.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is standing by the ‘innocent until proven guilty’ ethos.
Two weeks ago, a case of rape was opened against South African musician Sjava by his ex-girlfriend, fellow artist Lady Zamar.
He has since been dropped from various line-ups, including the Cape Town Jazz Festival which is taking place in March. He was also removed from the list of nominees for the DSTV Mzansi Viewers’ Choice Awards.
But not the SABC:
“The SABC respects the rule of law and believes that any allegations levelled against anyone should follow the due process of the law,” acting SABC spokesperson Mmoni Seapolelo recently told The Sowetan newspaper. “Thus at this stage, it is premature for the SABC to take any decision regarding broadcasting Sjava’s music.”
Innocent until proven guilty
Sjava has been fairly silent following the accusations laid out against him by Lady Zamar in a Twitter thread detailing the abuse which took place in October 2019. He has since denied the allegations in a statement:
“I did not rape her [Lady Zamar],” wrote Sjava.
“People are saying that I made empty threats to take her to court after her allegations last year. Ngithe mina [I said] last year I would follow legal processes to protect myself. This was not a threat. It’s something that anyone would do to protect themselves if they are accused of doing something that is not true.”
According to Sowetan Live, a Radio Monitor report which captures airplay data and analysis from 170 radio stations and 25 TV channels in SA shows that Sjava’s solo single ‘Linda’ has moved up a spot from last week, now sitting at 11. The song was played 36 times across 19 stations, proving the allegations aren’t having a major impact on his career.
As long as the SABC continues to play the music of Sjava, that won’t change either.
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