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Media personality Solomzi Phenduka, widely known as Sol, has apologised after making an ill-judged joke about Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo before her death was publicly reported.
During the latest Monday episode of Podcast and Chill, host MacGyver “MacG” Mukwevho cautioned the women in the studio against visiting Kempton Park, suggesting that a serial killer could be operating in the area. At that stage, 38-year-old Moselakgomo was still missing, and her family and friends were hoping she would be found safe.
MacG remarked that, because the woman had been running, people might have expected her to continue doing so. Phenduka laughed before responding with a reference to someone emerging from the woods or darkness to grab her after noticing numbers on her chest. He added that someone hiding in the woods may have seen the numbers and decided, in effect, to take her.
The presenters and other colleagues continued laughing before moving on to a different subject. A post calling for Podcast and Chill to be reported described the exchange as “despicable”.
On Monday, police confirmed that the body discovered in Kempton Park belonged to Moselakgomo. The revelation prompted a wave of criticism against Sol on social media, with users accusing him of showing no sensitivity and of failing to understand the seriousness of the situation as violence against women continues to reach crisis levels in South Africa.
Phenduka later addressed the backlash on X, saying he was sorry and acknowledging that the joke had been in poor taste.
In a video message, he explained that the episode had been recorded on Sunday, as the show generally releases new instalments on Mondays. Moselakgomo was still listed as missing when the recording took place, and he said he had made an unfortunate pun that initially prompted laughter. However, he added that it was no longer funny after the case developed and it emerged that her remains had been found in Kempton Park.
Phenduka issued a heartfelt apology to South Africans, the podcast’s supporters known as Chillers, and Moselakgomo’s family. He also said joking about a missing person was distasteful, particularly in the South African context and amid the country’s ongoing femicide crisis.
