Six months in, Wits University alumni says riding the airwaves at talk-radio 702 is part of her destiny.
From volunteering at a campus radio station to producing Afternoons with Relebogile Mabotja, airing on weekdays from 13h00 to 15h00, one former Witsie is living out her wildest dreams.
Born and raised in Soweto, Dobsonville, twenty-six-year-old Kgomotso Monyai is a writer, performer, poet, broadcaster, and a Wits Theatre and Performance graduate.
Monyai joined Radio 702 in November 2022 after finishing her Radio Certificate course through the Wits Centre for Journalism radio course during her final year. When she enrolled, her primary goal was to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes and improve her skills.
Her friend Nomusa Khoza says it all began with some manifestation at community radio station, Voice of Wits FM (VoW FM).
“I remember when she invited me to a year-end function and took me on tour at the Vow FM studio, and I told her she would sit in those chairs, and she did,” and now she finds herself in a studio producing for a national radio show Khoza says.
Monyai said the certification was necessary to break through some barriers to entry. “As a young broadcaster, you are met with a lot of talks, such as ‘being a broadcaster alone will not sustain you,’ so I needed to refine my craft,” Monyai explains.
Despite having prior knowledge of radio operations from student-run and focused Vow FM, she struggled during her first days at Radio 702.
“[Radio] 702 is full of older people who are mature, and the radio station is more serious and political, it’s different, I felt so lonely at first,” says Monyai.
Thabo Mosima, a former colleague of Monyai, attests to her hard work. “A lot of people don’t know how much work you need to do before doing a radio show and that time she was doing a breakfast show, she was always on time, an hour early before her show all the time,” he says.
He adds, “The love and passion she has for radio got her a radio award for Breakfast Show.” Monyai hopes this is one of many wins as she begins to make a name for herself in the industry.
FEATURED IMAGE: Kgomotso Monyai at the radio station. Photo: Mongezi Ntsebezo/Supplied
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