Shaking Things Up
Drum English|22 June 2017

Is she a sangoma or returning to radio? Unathi Msengana talks about her spiritual calling, why she left Metro FM and what she's up to now

Molife Kumona
Shaking Things Up

SHE’D been behind the mic at Mzansi’s biggest radio station for 10 years, so her fans were seriously upset when she quit Metro FM’s flagship breakfast show, The First Avenue.

It didn’t help that radio and TV personality Unathi Msengana went mum after announcing her resignation on social media. When reports emerged the singer/songwriter was becoming a sangoma, people assumed she’d left the station to fulfil her ancestral calling.

Now Unathi wants to set the record straight on why she really left Metro.

Chatting to us over lunch after a gruelling session at gym it's clear her personal trainer has been putting the mother of two through her paces. “He makes me work hard but my body’s showing the benefits, so I’m not com­ plaining,” she says.

It’s her first magazine interview since quitting the show in March and she gets serious when we get down to business.

“I’m not becoming a traditional healer,” she says adamantly. “People misquoted and misunderstood me when I said I have a spiritual calling.”

And it wasn’t just fans who were blown away by the reports. “My mom was frantic,” Unathi says. “When she called me she said, ‘Mntana wam, I’m holding this magazine and it says you’re beco­ming a traditional healer?’

“I responded to her calmly and said, ‘Ma, if that was the truth, if anyone would know about that it would be you and your husband’. She was angry but I told her reports had misconstrued the truth.”

She finally sheds light on the sangoma rumours. “In 2006 a stranger walked up to me and said, ‘You are born a healer and one day you’ll heal through song’.”

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة 22 June 2017 من Drum English.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة 22 June 2017 من Drum English.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من DRUM ENGLISH مشاهدة الكل
Homegrown Heroes
Drum English

Homegrown Heroes

Drum speaks to two volunteers in the Covid-19 vaccine trial and the professor heading the team in Africa

time-read
5 mins  |
9 July 2020
The Big Clean Up
Drum English

The Big Clean Up

Whenever a Covid-19 case is confirmed at a shop, they call in the deep-cleaners. We find out exactly how they disinfect stores and supermarkets

time-read
5 mins  |
9 July 2020
I'm Back & Better!
Drum English

I'm Back & Better!

Babes Wodumo shares what she’s been up to in lockdown – and there’s some new music on the horizon

time-read
5 mins  |
9 July 2020
Not An Easy Ride
Drum English

Not An Easy Ride

Taxi commuters and industry players tell DRUM what’s driving them to defy lockdown rules

time-read
5 mins  |
16 July 2020
Mam' Mary Bows Out
Drum English

Mam' Mary Bows Out

Iconic actress Mary Twala is fondly remembered by friends and family for her humour and talent

time-read
6 mins  |
16 July 2020
‘They Lived For Each Other'
Drum English

‘They Lived For Each Other'

This Cape Town teen’s parents died from Covid-19 on the same day. Now she’s alone and battling the virus too

time-read
6 mins  |
9 July 2020
Stranger Than Fiction
Drum English

Stranger Than Fiction

For actor Mangaliso Ngema and his daughter Khosi Ngema, her role in Blood & Water was like watching their family’s real-life story unfold

time-read
5 mins  |
9 July 2020
I Was Raped By A Pastor
Drum English

I Was Raped By A Pastor

His accusations against a well-known man of the cloth turned an Eastern Cape man’s life into turmoil but now more victims have spoken out

time-read
5 mins  |
16 July 2020
My Fight With Life And Death
Drum English

My Fight With Life And Death

More Covid-19 patients, too few beds and staff, constant sanitising and personal fears – a Western Cape doctor shares her experience

time-read
6 mins  |
16 July 2020
I AM ENOUGH
Drum English

I AM ENOUGH

Ten years after being set alight, Thembi Maphanga is living life to the fullest

time-read
5 mins  |
9 July 2020