POPULAR Ukhozi FM presenter Zimiphi Biyela says she has stopped reporting for duty as she fears that police might kill her following recent threatening remarks by Police Minister Bheki Cele made against her.
Talking to Sunday Independent, the DJ, who is affectionately known as Zimdollar, said Cele’s remarks had placed her life in danger while violating her right to freedom of speech.
“Right now, I have not been reporting for duty, not because I have been fired or suspended, but because I fear for my life that police might kill me. I fear that they might come for me when I arrive or leave work,” she said.
The disc spinner, who presents weekdays the “Dankie 12-3” music show with King Sfiso Sibiya, said Cele was pressuring the public broadcaster to fire her “for abusing airwaves”. Her crime was to express her feelings about the death of her brothers at the hands of National Intervention Unit (NIU) officers.
Her trouble started during the show when she raved about how police killed her two brothers, Lwazi Biyela and Ndumiso Teddy Biyela, and three cousins, Lindokuhle Ziqubu, Thami Manyoni and Nkululeko Dlamini, who were shot dead outside Bhucanana police station in Empangeni. She said two of the deceased were working for a driving school.
“My aunt’s son had just completed matric, while another one had just graduated from tertiary,” she said.
Provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nqobile Gwala referred Sunday Independent to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), which was now investigating the murder of Biyela’s relatives.
Ipid spokesperson Robbie Raburabu said the deaths of Biyela family members allegedly at the hands of NIU was “still being investigated by IPID (and) there is still a lot of investigation outstanding.”
Cele’s spokesperson, Lirandzu Themba, did not respond to an inquiry sent to her.
Biyela said after she raised her concern about NIU brutality, the police then wrote to Ukhozi FM station management requesting a right to reply, which they were offered with the belief that the matter would be settled
However, addressing mourners at a funeral of slain NIU Warrant Officer Sthembiso Mazibuko, Cele blamed Biyela for having used her radio platform to “woof” incite police killings.
“She went on the radio to say two things: that her brothers were killed, without explaining how they were killed by the NIU,” Cele told members of the NIU officers who attended the funeral.
He said, “In short, she was saying people should stop fearing NIU, and it (NIU) should be attacked.”
“This is a call by somebody who works for SABC, shouting at the SABC, and these are the result of you (NIU officers) not being feared,” Cele said while pointing at Mazibuko’s coffin.
He also said Biyela created an impression that NIU officers were trigger happy, and they open fire whenever they come across people.
“This means that she was giving an order that NIU officers must be shot at. Therefore, Zimdollar should be happy the NIU officer has been shot.
“She should be happy, as she made a call, and this is it. I have not heard what the SABC is saying when a person who works for SABC uses a public broadcaster to say things that are not in support of the police but against police.
“She did not explain what her brother did before they were killed, but we will explain one day what they did,” he said.
Cele accused Biyela of having abused “the SABC, which is the national asset” by acting as “a spokesperson for criminals”.
“I challenge the SABC, and I want to hear what they are going to say, as the statement (by Biyala) has yielded the results (apparently referring to Mazibuko’s murder),” said Cele.
Mazibuko was killed during a raid in Ntuzuma, north of Durban, which resulted in a shootout between NIU officers and four suspects, who were also killed. According to media reports, one of the suspects was wanted for multiple murders.
Biyela said three days after her brothers were killed, she heard a news bulletin about another killing of suspects by NIU officers in Ballito, North Coast, who were said to have been found with guns and ammunition.
“I asked why this was happening because there had been about five incidents where police would storm houses and shoot people for similar reasons; that they had been in possession of firearms, while people who have been killed would not be able to defend themselves,” she said.
She said when she raised the Ballito shooting, she also talked about how her brothers were also killed.
When police arrived at the radio station to respond to her concerns, she explained to them that she raised the matter because she was still in pain at losing her brothers in almost the same manner as the one in Ballito, without any explanation as to why the NIU killed them.
She said what made her fear for her life was that Cele had told Mazibuko's family members that she incited the killing of their loved one.
“Even the police were told (by Cele) that they were being killed because of me, and now I might be hated by these police officers,” she said.
She said her family were hoping that Cele would keep his promise to reveal why her brothers were killed because “since they were killed, no one had come to us to explain what happened.”
“In the video, Cele said he would tell us,” she said.
“My brothers were driving to a shop to buy cold drinks for my relative’s funeral.
“Along the way, they were confronted by NIU officers, who then shot them, and we heard on radio that they were in possession of machine guns, of which we don’t understand why they were so armed like criminals if they were just sent to a shop.
“After the shooting outside the police station, the NIU prevented the local police from gaining access to the scene. How can the local police be refused access to the crime scene that is in front of the police station? What were they (NIU officers) hiding?” she said.