A multi-talented person across various fields, Babongile Sikhonjwa (Bulawayo, 1976-2025) is no more.
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Primary Schools: Baines Primary School; Mt. Batten Primary School, Harare; Cecil John Rhodes Primary School, Gweru; Baines Primary School.
High Schools: Mzingwane High School; Milton High School.
After School: Computer Science; Dip. Sound Engineering; North London University, UK.
“No one must pay for what they were given by uNkulunkulu lamadlozi. Abantu bafenele sibatshele ukuthi lowo ngumhawu, lidimoni.”
One of my favourite radio broadcasts was on 31 December 2016 when Babongile Sikhonjwa hosted the Skyz Metro FM’s New Year’s Eve show with guest host, the legendary former ZBC Radio 2’s Ezra “Tshisa” Sibanda. This was at the height of the late Dan “Dalom” Tshanda’s (1964 – 2019) “Siyazenzela”. I was the weekend radio programmer and the minute the two arrived, the studio telephone lines were completely jammed.
Amanzi kathixo ayegeleza, umsakazo uvutha! Just before midnight, I left the studio as I had to be back for Umdala, and Radio Mthwakazi (1975-1980) legend, Luke “LMK” Mnkandla by 5AM.
Prior to that, I first met Babongile in 2014 at the Bulawayo Theatre when my previous project, DECK magazine (2012-2014), was co-hosting Ntandoyenkosi Moyo’s newly created Umahlekisa Comedy Club (2013). Babongile graciously transported us back to the city despite not knowing us, but we already knew that was who he was – a kind person who supported everyone in Bulawayo.
I was told that Matabeleland recommended that I become programmes manager at the development of Skyz Metro FM in 2015. A prudish me almost fell out of my chair when Babongile submitted that his upcoming morning show would be called “The Vuka Vuka Breakfast Show”.
Vuka Vuka, a clever ploy of the Ndebele word ukuvuka (to wake up), was also Uhlelo / Nguni orthography of Impambosi Yokwenzayenza/Reduplication (Nyembezi, 1956), and of course, the various sexual innuendos of vuka, the male anatomy, or the legendary aphrodisiacs of Nguni society. You cannot be a historian if you do not know the history of sex in your village.
Initially, it was meant to be a one-day show on a Tuesday. However, the demo tapes we made at Amakhosi / Mr. G’s Studios, sometimes at Just Percy Studios, and once at NUST Studios made me fight for it to be a daily show. It was a no-brainer.
He, thus, was the first voice to be heard when Skyz Metro FM went on air on 11 September 2016, after a near two years of off-air trainings.
The amount of work and the consummate professionality he displayed in creating his show was outstanding. His dedication to promoting IsiNdebele since doing Ndebele rap as early as 1992 was a marvel. I’m not a morning person and I simply could not match his energy, but I knew someone who could. Interestingly, management and I thought of my former DECK magazine colleague, Nkosinqobile “Chris Nqoe” Dube, who was the perfect producer for him, and had literally walked by Amakhosi as if on cue!
Along with technical producer and my former Radio Dialogue colleague, Gabriel “Gabz Hotter Fire” Nyandoro, Vincent “Mr. G” Gurure, and Amos Mabwe, the five of them spent hours and sometimes nights – sleeping in-studio – working on The Vuka Vuka Show! I have NEVER seen anything like it! Some of the gentlemen’s wives once called me, livid, literally besidla amahabula, baying for my blood, demanding to know why their husbands were working so hard on “this radio show”.
They told me about conjugal rights. They told me about father’s duties. They told me about work ethics. They ran out of airtime and called back again. The gents refused to answer their phone and handed it to me.
The ladies spoke about the sanctity of marriage. They spoke about work-life balance. They spoke about priorities in life. My brain was fried. I called management, and told the gents that I was leaving for the day! The gents wouldn’t have anything about going home and kept working overnights! U-Khulu Cont Mhlanga and I, for our 7AM briefings, were completely baffled.
But such was the entertainment industry’s “behind-the-scenes” dedication that went into The Vuka Vuka Breakfast Show which the public loved so much.
A quintessential “shock jock”, Babongile dished numerous gaffes’ which made a meek me shiver! I was always a dial away from management to report, “you will not believe what I just heard Babongile say!” Once a furious Khulu Cont Mhlanga, who had gone into retirement in Lupane, called to say he had heard him talking about imsuzo (farts) on air! It is incredible how he was only suspended twice in that role.
Being suspended is a good thing on radio by the way.
Another time, Babongile mentioned “mDidymus” to lampoon a former government official. The listeners ate it up. My Zhwane uncles were like, “liyasihlanyisa”. Babongile was one of the people in Matabeleland who spoke truth to power, always, and I recall the time when it was being questioned why the phrase “esabantubantu”, another Impambosi Yokwenzayenza, was being used.
We tried a variety of combinations “to tame” the male crew with the addition of heavy-hitting ladies like Donna Ncube, Sizwakele “Zwa” Ndlovu, and Thandi Muringa. Musician, Sandisiwe “TKP” Dube, noticed and approached me asking for the test as well and she proved to have some big radio chops, which I fought her hard to develop. Later, I was no longer the program manager, but the magic occurred with the swap of Khayelihle Moyo and TKP from drivetime and breakfast respectively.
Of course, the show had many other versions after this.
“Sisonke Khiwa Lami”, “Sisisonke My English” —in reference to Khaya and how she remined him of all the ladies who first called him “Bubbles” back in the day—was a hit in the mornings. It earned him a National Arts Merit Award for Best Radio Journalist by 2019. It is the only radio DJ’s NAMA to come to Bulawayo since the awards began in 2002. At the time of his death, Babongile had gone national at Star FM.
Because of the number of people I dealt with, I did not know him well at all and I was but a listener like everyone else. Often times in the arts, people think one person knows another person well. This piece might help many a media studies student as Matabeleland has several community radio stations nowadays which is what I began advocating for as a high school student in September, 20 years ago.
Kodwa ke, dlula kahle “Ancestor Records”. Although an entire nation is in disbelief, Babongile abantu.
Since I cannot interview the man for my new profile series The Republic of…, the BYO Podcast once sat down with him in 2022 for a wide-ranging hour and forty-five minutes where he said, “No one must pay for what they were given by uNkulunkulu lamadlozi. Abantu bafenele sibatshele ukuthi lowo ngumhawu, lidimoni.” I loved this phrase because it reminded me of when his salary was a hot topic, and I found a meeting about it, with him there. I said, “Babongile Sikhonjwa has worked hard to be Babongile Sikhonjwa in this country”, and walked away from radio in 2017.
Cite this article: Jermain, S. (2025, September 21). Obituary – Babongile “Ndebele Rockstar” Sikhonjwa (1976 – 2025). Sonny Jermain Online. https://sonnyjermain.com/obituary-babongile-sikhonjwa/
In-text: Parenthical – (Jermain, 2025); or Narrative – Jermain (2025).
