Sika ikhekhe cut off the air

Sika ikhekhe cut off the air

Bongani Ngwenya - 06 September 2005

arthur sika Arthur Mafokate who is no stranger to controversy, has released another kwaito hit song which has not gone down well with the country's gender body because of the sexually explicit lyrics which are said be offensive to women.

A senior government official and the head of the country's gender body have taken Arthur, the Soweto-born kwaito singer, to task. Cheryl Gillwald, the deputy minister of correctional services, and Joyce Seroke, the chairperson of the commission on gender equality, criticised the singer for his portrayal of women as cheap sex objects.

Mafokate's song Sika Lekheke (cut the cake) was taken off the airwaves on Ukhozi FM, the SABC's KwaZulu-Natal-based radio station with a listenership estimated at some 7 million a day, after numerous complaints from listeners.

In tsotsi taal, "khekhe" refers to women's genitalia and in township slang "sika" refers to having sex.

The lyrics "bakuphi labo baby abangifunayo, abang'thandayo? Bayazi sonibonis' umhlolo, sonibonis'inombolo ngoba ngiyavuvuzela, sika lekhekhe", have been loosely translated as: "Where are all the babes that want me, that like me? They know I'll show them something extraordinary, I'll show them who I am because I'm the hot shot ... cut the cake."

William Bird, the head of the Media Monitoring Project in Randburg, said he was opposed to banning the song because "media freedom was a hard-won right". However, he said the national broadcaster has a duty to challenge gender stereotypes, not encourage them.

"The SABC should encourage debate about the song... Furthermore, Arthur should explain where he stands on gender-based violence since he is making money from perpetuating stereotypes," he said.

Lesego Mncwango, the SABC spokesperson, said a committee at the corporation was ascertaining whether or not the song was vulgar. The song was taken off the Ukhozi FM playlist but receives airplay on other stations because there had been no formal complaint.

But Mafokate is no stranger to controversy, having released an album entitled Kaffir in 1995, with four versions of the title song and lyrics saying "Nee baas ... don't call me Kaffir".

Despite being banned on several radio stations, the song was a hit and the album sold more than 150 000 copies.

However, UK based Ndebele radio station, Shaya FM has said they have not banned the song from their playlist.