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A new series will be coming to a TV screen near you. MTV will premiere its Shuga: What Makes a Man documentary series, hosted by rapper Siyabonga Nene, popularly known as Big Zulu; media personality Uncle Vinny, whose given name is Kabelo Vincent Ndlovu; TV presenter Andile Gaelesiwe; and former fan favourite Sthembinkosi Junior Bikwa, who the world would come to know as Bujy.
The series takes an intimate look at tackling gender-based violence, through the voices of these four hosts.
However, a few red flags are piquing the interest of the public as audiences expressed their outrage over the irresponsible casting of Bujy for the series.
READ: Boity wants R1m to settle with Bujy
On a fateful night in October 2021, after many years of keeping us entertained on Metro FM, media personality Bujy became involved in an altercation with megastar Boity Thulo over spiritual callings.
The exchange quickly turned physical when Bujy allegedly threw a bottle at Thulo, resulting in facial injuries. As a result, a case of assault was opened against Bujy, which demanded he cough up more than R1 million in a legal settlement and medical fees to the Wuz Dat rapper.
Just a few months following the altercation, MTV hired Bujy to become the host of a show against gender-based violence, seemingly in the interest of tackling and dismantling notions about men and abusive structures inherent in our African society.
A study done by the Africa Health Organisation in 2021 concluded that 51% of women in South Africa have experienced gender-based violence, with 76% of men saying they were perpetrators. Between 2019 and 2020, 695 women were murdered in South Africa, meaning that a woman was murdered every three hours, and with a femicide statistic five times higher than the global average, it’s easy to understand the outrage.
The internet definitely agrees, as Twitter users quickly called out MTV for their insensitive and regressive approach to tackling the scourge of abuse against women.
I was most intrigued by the idea that being a part of the LGBTIQ+ community somehow exonerated men of their physical violence towards women, and in fact allowed them to walk through life as if they were innocent.
Recently we have seen members of the LGBTIQ+ make strides in the community, bringing their identities to the forefront of mainstream media, and creating the space for not only their voices to be heard, but their stories to be told and their ideas to be respected.
This giant leap for their community meant that adequate representations of their lives gave them the opportunity to occupy competitions, reality shows, TV stations and even our favourite soapies.
This dramatic shift could indeed be the cause of the retention of people such as former Idols SA judge Somizi Mhlongo on such platforms, even after rumours and audio evidence had swirled of his alleged abuse towards his estranged ex-husband Mohale Motaung.
READ: Zodwa Wabantu calls cops on new Ben 10
However, a further inspection would show that it is, in fact, not an issue with the media allowing violent members of the LGBTIQ+ community to thrive, but a direct issue with how, as a country we reward men for bad behaviour.
For many years after his alleged abuse towards musician Kelly Khumalo, rapper Molemo “Jub Jub” Maarohanye was given airplay and, after serving a jail sentence for a different crime, he was rewarded with a prime-time slot on Moja Love’s Uyajola 9/9.
Only when the rumours of rape and abuse resurfaced was the host suspended from the show.
Let’s not forget the rumours that flooded the media between 2019 and 2020, after musician Yamikani Janet “Lady Zamar” Banda spoke out about the alleged sexual abuse she had endured with Uthando hitmaker, Jabulani “Sjava” Hadebe.
Instead of support, Lady Zamar was met with public scrutiny, while Sjava performed on countless tours, got award nominations and even performed at the critically acclaimed 2019 Afropunk music festival.
In this day and age, when gender-based violence takes centre stage in countless conversations in the media, surely a prestigious broadcaster such as MTV has had enough practice to discern what the public truly needs in order to effectively tackle gender-based violence?
What will be the result of this poor attempt at creating progressive conversations about men in our country? I guess we’ll have to wait and see how the conversation proceeds.
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