Moja Love accused of promoting gender-based violence after airing an offensive episode
|Published
Thando and Siyacela Dlamuka. Picture: Moja Love
Johannesburg - The recent episode depicting violence on Isencane Lengane on Moja Love has sparked commotion on social media, with many viewers naming it irresponsible broadcasting.
This follows a heated altercation between Siyacela Dlamuka and Thando Msomi, where Dlamuka is seen turning violent towards Msomi.
The episode was not well received by viewers, and as a result, Moja Love came under fire after the airing, forcing the channel to justify its action.
“The most recent episode of Isencane Lengane, on Moja Love (DStv Channel 157), saw couple Siyacela Dlamuka and Thando Msomi engage in a heated argument, leading to Siyacela becoming violent towards her. Following the broadcast of this episode, there has been an uproar, with some labelling this as irresponsible broadcasting.
“Moja Love would like to put it on record that the channel does not condone GBV in any way.
“Moja Love prides itself on producing content that reflects the reality in our society, including social ills, and as such, we could not sweep the gender-based violence (GBV) incident between Thando and Siyacela under the carpet. In a country burdened by gender-based violence and femicide, Moja Love has a responsibility to reflect and show the extent of this pandemic.”
Though they attempted to salvage the situation, their attempts fell on deaf ears.
Viewers further revealed that Moja Love was fully aware of the violence that transpired in that episode when it was shared on national television, and had there been no complaints, they would have seen nothing wrong with the abuse.
Further explaining the episode, Moja Love says it did intervene when it happened.
“Moja Love intervened as the incident was happening. It is important to point out that the Moja Love crew arrived during the altercation between Siyacela and Thando, and police were called in. The crew was not allowed to film this. Thando was given the option to open a case against Siyacela, but she chose not to exercise that option, and instead, the channel moved Thando away to a different location from Siyacela.”
Msomi was immediately offered counselling to deal with her trauma, and the channel is monitoring her progress.
Head of the Channel at Moja Love, Bokani Moyo, says: “As a channel, we take violence of any sort seriously, and we do not condone nor support gender-based violence in any way. It was important to air this episode of Isencane Lengane as it is our social responsibility to educate our audiences and mirror what happens in our communities. Cancelling the show is not the solution, but let’s rather open a platform to discuss issues that are eating away at the moral fibre of our society.”
The Star