Fear has gripped female employees of Kaya FM 959 who previously accused former boss Greg Maloka of sexual harassment, after the station’s majority shareholder rehired him.
AME, which owns a majority stake in Kaya FM, has rehired Maloka as a commercial partner of its other entity, United Stations, which sells advertising for the station.
Maloka is now occupying an office that was allocated to the entity’s former CFO, only known as Linda , on the third floor of the building in Parkview, where the executives sit.
Before his return, Kaya FM Acting Managing Executive Dave Tiltmann allegedly asked staff if they would be comfortable with Maloka rejoining the entity. He allegedly received no response.
Maloka jumped ship in 2020 when the company was investigating allegations of sexual harassment and financial misconduct against him.
Despite resigning during the course of the investigation, a Joburg based lawyer, Brenda Madumise, who conducted the investigation on behalf of Kaya FM, made adverse findings against Maloka.
In her findings report, which she submitted to Kaya FM, Madumise alleged that at least six female employees came forward to provide evidence of sexual harassment they experienced in the form of unwelcome comments, hugs, kisses, massages, and ear whispers from Maloka.
She said, in support of the allegations, evidence was provided by way of interviews and written statements.
“It was agreed that the employees involved would be protected; some of the employees have indicated that they will be willing to testify should a formal process be instituted against those accused. To protect the identity of the staff in question, the evidence presented has been paraphrased and certain identifying information removed. However, witness statements and recordings are available,” she said.
Madumise said while the evidence provided implicates more than one perpetrator of sexual harassment, it is important to note that the majority of the evidence related to various forms of sexual harassment allegedly perpetrated by Maloka against a number of female staff members.
This, she said, occurred either during their tenure at Kaya FM or during their tenure at suppliers to Kaya FM, such as Mediamark.
The allegations of sexual harassment date back to around 2008/9.
The first alleged victim said Maloka’s behaviour was generally inappropriate and “messed with her mind”.
“At first you believe you are special because you are receiving attention from the MD. Part of his grooming is the invitations for drinks in his office, which is seen as social capital in the organisation as it is not open to all. He would hug me and I would feel very uncomfortable to the point where I tried to gamify the greetings, as in, instead of hugs I would say to him, ‘no boss, it’s fist bump Tuesday’. This was to avoid getting hugged. It is terrible that I would daily have to negotiate working around the hug,” the alleged victim said.
The victim also alleged that Maloka hugged people to normalise the behaviour, but she felt uncomfortable.
The second victim alleged Maloka invited her to the Hyatt hotel, where he hugged and kissed her in front of her line manager.
“In 2017/18 Greg came around and hugged me and this was followed by a kiss on my lips. This was in the presence of my line manager who protested to Greg that this was wrong. Following that I requested that my manager help me avoid Greg,” she said.
The third victim alleged that in 2019 she was in the kitchen when Maloka came up and hugged her from behind.
“In 2019, I was in the kitchen; Greg came up to me and hugged me from behind. Men saw what was permissible and took their lead from the top. I was extremely uncomfortable with Greg, to the point that I asked my manager to please stay around me if he is around. There was a culture of sexual affairs in the company and a number of women who did not like the attention or physical contact,” the victim alleged.
The victim also alleged that Maloka was not the only one who cavalierly associated with female colleagues.
“There is a lot of drinking of alcohol at the office and during one of these occasions one of the male staff members came up to me and kissed me. When I protested, he became aggressive. We work in a misogynistic environment,” the victim said.
The fourth victim also alleged that when she joined Kaya FM, they underwent an induction, but station representatives never spoke about sexual harassment or whether relationships between colleagues were allowed.
“It was expected that you should hug Greg, although it was not expected from everyone. This progressed to kissing and touching. This made me extremely uncomfortable, and others noticed and alleged I was his favourite. Two years ago, he used to massage my shoulders for a few minutes. Last year, when GBV was topical, he massaged me again and said ‘tell me if this is okay’, to which I said, ‘behave yourself’. Someone in Greg’s position should know that what he is doing is wrong. People experience favouritism if they are in a relationship with him,” she alleged in the report.
The fifth victim alleged that two weeks after joining Kaya, Maloka invited her to attend a science lecture.
“During the lecture he put his hands on my shoulders, which made me feel uncomfortable, and said to me, ‘I knew you would like this’. Post the lecture there were drinks, and Greg ordered us wine. He kept stroking my hands and touching me,” she said.
The victim said another incident happened in January 2016, when the station had an off-site event themed “Bikinis and Bodies” with an overnight sleepover.
“The drinking of alcohol was out of hand and the party was raucous. I started to feel unsafe and went to my room. At around 10:30 pm I was awakened by someone trying to access my room and screaming for me. I was very afraid, and realised it was Greg trying to get access. I did not sleep that night,” she alleged.
The victim further alleged that she was researching massages at Kaya FM in 2019 because her mother was suffering from intense migraines.
“Greg entered the office and saw what I was doing and asked me about it. I explained it was for my mom, to which he responded that massages are great and that we should go to a hotel together and make a weekend of it,” she stated.
The sixth victim alleged she was working for an advertising entity linked to the station between 2008 and 2009 when she became Maloka’s other victim.
“A colleague and I were invited to a Kaya FM function which was held off-site and was a sleepover. My colleague and I shared a room. Greg requested that I come to his room, where he proceeded to remove his jeans and started to kiss me. I left the room in shock and tried to find my colleague. As a young professional I was afraid to come forward and did not press any charges. I was further afraid to tell my own superiors as I worried whether it would compromise business with Kaya FM. I do realise that what Greg did was wrong and was using his power and influence to psychologically manipulate me,” she said.
Based on this, Madumise concluded that Maloka had a case to answer.
“The conduct of Greg, in relation to sexual harassment, is in contravention of Section 6(1) of the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998. The conduct of Greg as MD has exposed Kaya FM to risk of litigation and reputational damage. The allegation of professional discrimination against female staff who did not reciprocate sexual advances is substantiated. The allegation that at least six female staff experienced sexual harassment is substantiated,” she concluded.
In a written response, Tiltmann said they would not comment on the matter.
“The station does not comment on commercial arrangements or untested allegations involving specific individuals,” he said.
He added that they take the safety, dignity and wellbeing of their employees seriously.
“Where concerns are raised, they are dealt with through the appropriate internal channels and in line with our policies and applicable law. We remain committed to maintaining a professional, respectful and safe working environment for all staff, partners and stakeholders,” he said.
Speaking to Africa Daily, Madumise confirmed that she conducted investigations against Maloka.
“I confirm that we conducted preliminary assessment of sexual harassment , bullying and intimidation allegations levelled against Greg Maloka. We can safely confirm the findings made pertaining to sexual harassment. The allegations were substantiated by the survivors of sexual harassment, “ she said.
Madumise said the board of Kaya FM was meant to investigate the allegations further based on their initial findings.
She said it was not her brief to make direct findings against Maloka.
“It is outrageous and contemptuous that he is back in the same space with those that he inflicted harm on,” she said.
