{"id":2594,"date":"2026-07-02T22:14:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T19:14:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/loyiso-bala-announces-exit-from-sabc-stations-umhlobo-wenene-fm-and-trufm\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T22:14:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T19:14:23","slug":"loyiso-bala-announces-exit-from-sabc-stations-umhlobo-wenene-fm-and-trufm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/loyiso-bala-announces-exit-from-sabc-stations-umhlobo-wenene-fm-and-trufm\/","title":{"rendered":"Loyiso Bala Announces Exit From SABC Stations Umhlobo Wenene FM and truFM"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>South African singer-songwriter and media executive Loyiso Bala has confirmed that he is stepping down as Business Manager for the SABC\u2019s Eastern Cape radio stations, Umhlobo Wenene FM and truFM.<\/p>\n<h2>Key takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Loyiso Bala has announced his exit as Business Manager overseeing SABC\u2019s Eastern Cape radio operations, including Umhlobo Wenene FM and truFM.<\/li>\n<li>He shared the news through an emotional Instagram post on Tuesday, describing the position as both demanding and deeply fulfilling.<\/li>\n<li>Bala thanked the station teams for their trust and praised the presenters, producers, and internal stakeholders who supported his leadership style.<\/li>\n<li>He credited his faith and his family\u2014especially his wife, Jennifer, and their daughters\u2014for helping him handle the job\u2019s pressure.<\/li>\n<li>While he didn\u2019t say what he\u2019ll do next, he left the role reflecting on milestones, lessons, and relationships formed during his tenure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>An emotional farewell from Instagram<\/h2>\n<p>On Tuesday, Bala posted a heartfelt message on Instagram to mark the close of his time in the role. In his note, he said the day represented the end of his journey as Business Manager for the SABC\u2019s Eastern Cape radio \u201ccombo,\u201d covering Umhlobo Wenene FM and truFM.<\/p>\n<p>Describing the assignment as among the toughest and most rewarding leadership responsibilities of his career, he pointed to the weight of the position and the people he had the opportunity to work alongside throughout the period.<\/p>\n<p>Bala then expressed deep appreciation to the teams at both stations, emphasizing that their trust during his tenure meant a great deal to him. He specifically told the UWFM and truFM staff that he had been given more than routine support\u2014he felt genuinely trusted, and he said he would not forget that.<\/p>\n<h2>Thanks to colleagues, family, and listeners<\/h2>\n<p>Along with thanking station staff, the award-winning musician also acknowledged presenters, producers, and other internal stakeholders who embraced his approach to leadership. He noted that although his methods could sometimes be \u201cunconventional,\u201d everyone continued to show up, and together they built meaningful moments.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the workplace, Bala saved special gratitude for his family. He attributed his ability to manage the demands of the role to faith, crediting the Lord for guidance, strength, and grace. He also thanked his wife, Jennifer, and his daughters for their steady love and support, saying they carried him through both high points and low points and that he couldn\u2019t have done it without them.<\/p>\n<p>Bala further extended his appreciation to the loyal audiences of Umhlobo Wenene FM and truFM, calling listeners \u201cfamily\u201d and thanking them for their consistent backing. He added that without the audience, there would have been little reason to keep showing up with the same level of commitment.<\/p>\n<h2>What\u2019s next for Loyiso Bala<\/h2>\n<p>Although Bala didn\u2019t outline what his next career step will be, he said he is leaving the role with gratitude for the experiences, achievements, and connections he built along the way. In his closing message, he expressed thanks for the milestones reached, lessons learned, and trust shared, and ended with the sentiment that the best is still ahead, using the phrase \u201cEnkosi kakhulu.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For Bala, the departure signals the end of an important chapter in his broadcasting career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>South African singer-songwriter and media executive Loyiso Bala has confirmed that he is stepping down as Business Manager for the SABC\u2019s Eastern Cape radio stations, Umhlobo Wenene FM and truFM. Key takeaways Loyiso Bala has announced his exit as Business Manager overseeing SABC\u2019s Eastern Cape radio operations, including Umhlobo Wenene FM and truFM. He shared [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2593,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Loyiso Bala Exits SABC Radio Umhlobo Wenene FM, truFM","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Loyiso Bala confirms he\u2019s stepping down as Business Manager for SABC Eastern Cape radio, including Umhlobo Wenene FM and truFM\u2014det","mma_seo_breadcrumb_text":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_url":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_hide_ui":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_labels":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-celebrities"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Loyiso Bala Exits SABC Radio Umhlobo Wenene FM, truFM<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Loyiso Bala confirms he\u2019s stepping 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Over four years, she helped evolve the platform from a simple blog into one of South Africa\u2019s leading independent entertainment news sites. Following ZAlebs\u2019 transition to Celebrity Worx in 2016, Zibuyile was promoted to Executive Editor, recognized for her sharp audience insight and ability to match editorial with branded content. Highlights of her time include a Bookmark Award nomination, judging TLC\u2019s Next Great Presenter, reporting from the MTV EMAs, and building partnerships with radio stations like YFM, Cliff Central, and Good Hope FM. Her editorial work also expanded to include fast-growing digital verticals\u2014such as lifestyle tech, online entertainment, and gambling-related content\u2014tailored to evolving reader interests and brand opportunities.","sameAs":["https:\/\/za.linkedin.com\/in\/zibuyile-dladla-9a26628a"],"url":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/author\/zibuyile-dladla\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2594"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2594\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}