The ZBC has suspended its director of radio services Robson Mhandu after he demanded punani from a female presenter in order to approve her transfer request from Bulawayo to Harare.
Mhandu, who has over two decades at the ZBC on and off, told Farai Juliet Magada, also known as Farie Jules, that she needed to “motivate me by work and number two, the obvious… it’s a combination of the two.”
“Tell me if you don’t want to do it and you’ll go back to Bulawayo,” Mhandu told Magada in an audio recording of their meeting in his office at Pockets Hill.
Two audio recordings of 18 minutes and 3 minutes, as well as 14 screenshots of WhatsApp messages, were shared with ZimLive by ZBC insiders.
When Magada asked Mhandu if her transfer should depend on punani, he told her that “we don’t seperate the two.”
“I will send you to Bulawayo, I have the power,” he threatened.
Mhandu is also heard telling Magada that his demands are “the practical realities of life.”
And then in a string of WhatsApp messages, each punctuated with a peppering of seemingly meaningless emojis but always featuring a lion – his totem – Mhandu referred to Magada as his wife, declaring: “In our tradition one mustn’t give their woman space. Shumba (lion) is a military management animal, no letting go, never ever.”
Magada asked Mhandu if giving him favours guaranteed her transfer, and he responded: “It’s one million percent guaranteed… Remember you moved from Khulumani FM to Classic 263 on my signature MaMoyo. Your talk of guarantees is purely a sign of disrespect from a typical Zimbabwean woman.”
Mhandu variously called Magada “honey,” “darling” and “sweetheart” as he kept pestering her for punani on WhatsApp.
In their meeting, Mhandu appeared concerned about Magada’s workrate, even declaring that he did not believe she should be at ZBC.
“At ZBC, as a typical top management technocrat, can I say this person really deserves to get paid? You don’t. You’re being paid because I’m there for you, you’re protected for which you’re not appreciating, you’re asking me silly questions like you did this morning,” Mhandu is heard saying.
“I just don’t talk about being a lion, I am a lion and my business is to kill. This is me. It’s loud and clear. Do the right things right. You can’t separate the two.”
When Magada finally tells him, on WhatsApp, that “I am not going to sleep with you for you to sign my papers,” a furious Mhandu responded: “Case closed, no further discussion on this issue. It’s now work and work. SIMPLE.”
Punani harassment in the media industry was on the agenda on Wednesday as information minister Jenfan Muswere attended a workshop in Harare where industry players were crafting a common policy to guide all media workers.
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“It’s in this context that the government views punani harassment as a violation of human rights, it affects everyone.”
Mhandu, in the years he left the ZBC, worked at tax collector ZIMRA and the Zimbabwe Open University’s public relations departments where similar allegations followed him.
ZBC CEO Adelaide Chikunguru told ZimLive she was “not aware” of Mhandu’s suspension.
“She’s lying,” one ZBC insider said. “She has always thought Mhandu wants her job, she’s careful not to be seen as instigating his downfall.”
Even in the face of damning evidence, ZimLive understands Mhandu is determined to fight the punani harassment charge at an internal disciplinary hearing next month.
When approached for comment, Mhandu asked to be called back in 15 minutes, after which his phone repeatedly rang unanswered.
ZBC workers who spoke to ZimLive said Mhandu had an extensive history of demanding punani from female subordinates.
“This is just a tip of the iceberg. The ZBC should actually be conducting a wider inquiry, led by an independent panel. What they will find is a sickening punani bullying culture that has permeated the organisation for many years,” one employee said, asking not to be named.
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