After social media dubbed Dineo Ranaka’s dismissal from her former employer, Kaya 959, unfair due to the mental health issues she faced, the radio station has shared its reasons for her termination.
According to Sunday World, in an internal memorandum sent to the radio station’s employees last week, Acting Managing Director Colleen Louw stated the station bent over backwards to accommodate Dineo’s challenges and even facilitated her admission to a mental institution.
However, the radio host and DJ went AWOL (absent without official leave).
The publication then says that Colleen stated Dineo did not take Kaya 959 into confidence regarding her medical issues, but instead took to her social media platforms.
The internal memorandum read, “The morning [show] presenter has been off air since the 22nd of May when she did not appear for her show, and the station was subsequently alerted to her public outcry on social media, which led to an unfortunate medical diagnosis.”
Colleen also states that to support Dineo, the station contacted a mental health organisation for guidance, which would also have facilitated her admission to a wellness facility for a week. The Acting Managing Director then adds that the station tried contacting the media personality to see if she was recovering from her illness.
However, after not being able to reach Dineo, “the station had to take a difficult decision to part ways with her.”
The memo further read, “While we place great value on our people and their well-being, we have to balance this with the needs of the business. At this juncture, it is in the interest of the company to bring consistency to the station’s operational needs in order to best serve our clients and listeners.”
Although they have now parted ways, Colleen says that the station is still willing to support Dineo.
“Kaya 959 is prepared to continue supporting Dineo’s mental wellness journey and we hope that she will be open to discussing possible mutually beneficial opportunities in future. We are grateful for Dineo’s valuable contribution to Kaya 959 during her time with us and wish her well.”
Sunday World approached Dineo for a comment, who then referred the publication to her lawyer Paul Samuels, who said, “We do not wish to prejudice our client’s case. We are of the opinion that it is inept to talk to the media at such an early stage of the dispute and before proper instructions have been taken from our client.”
