Winning on the gsport awards stage has seen Noloyiso Bonga garner much attention for her achievement. Bonga won the SABC Woman in Radio gong at the recent Momentum gsport Awards where she beat former winner Tholakele Mnganga and Mahlodi Ranku to the 2024 honours.
Her win made such an impact on her community that she embarked on a ‘trophy tour’ with her award being paraded wherever she went. So much so, that she now keeps it in her car so that people are always able to snap a picture of her with it.
“I tried to show appreciation to those who voted for me and I wanted them to see the award. This award is also theirs, it is not only mine alone. I was doing interviews, sharing on social media asking people to vote for me, and now that’s so, I had to show them (the award).”
2024 SABC Woman in Radio Award Winner, Noloyiso Bonga
“It’s not only about me now, it’s all about the people, because everyone wants to take a picture of the award, and it’s always in my car, I have never left it at home. I just showed it to my family when I arrived from the awards but since then it is in my car because I know people want to take pictures with me holding the award. It’s such an exciting moment and I sometimes forget that or they remind me that it means a lot,” she added.
Bonga who is a SABC Sports Radio Presenter and Content Producer for uMhlobo Wenene FM says her win is for her community as many people took the time to vote for her as she campaigned before the awards. She has since seen the #PowerOfRecognition at work as she has been acknowledged by many different people since her latest achievement.
“It means a lot, even to them. It means a lot to me too because I knew anything could happen. I went to look at the other finalist’s profiles and what they are doing so I saw what a strong category it was for me and I am fighting with the big guns.
“Yes, I wanted to win it, but knew that any one of us could have won, and I couldn’t believe it when I did win. After winning it, I had a speech prepared, but it was so surprising, that I was left speechless.”
“For the community, I think it means a lot because even my ward councillor had a welcome braai for me at home, it’s something they did to show their appreciation and pride. Some of the community members visited my place, and everyone was happy.
“This past week I was also invited by the mayor of where I am originally from, which is Ngqushwa, and he wanted me to speak at the opening of the Mayoral Cup to talk with the athletes and motivate them.”
Bonga’s career in radio started in 2007 when she began working at a community radio station as a news reader in the isiXhosa language. She then moved to Bay TV which rebranded to Mpuma Kapa TV, here she continued reading the news and started news reporting.
It was her then-station manager Lungile Nduvane who was responsible for Bonga’s first sporting assignment, and she explains just how she got started in the world of sports broadcasting.
“There was a presenter doing sport but she found another job, he (Nduvane) then asked me to stand in and do the show that she was presenting. That is how my career in sports started. I then joined SABC in 2016, I tried for a while to get into SABC but I didn’t have the luck previously, but believed sport is my calling.”
Bonga is an avid athlete and has shared that her first love is karate. She has been very successful in martial arts, and was awarded national colours, at both junior and senior levels. She also represented the Eastern Province in rugby, and now runs socially and plays some cricket. Despite this, she says being a sports anchor and journalist was something she never imagined doing.
“I never thought about it, because I did journalism my focus was only on the news, reporting on sport was something that never came to my mind. As much as I understand and love sports I thought that my breakthrough would be news but once I started news, I never turned back – it’s something I love!”
“It was also an eye-opener for me, and I would like to thank my former station manager, because I didn’t even care about it or thought it was something I should follow, but being an athlete, it is something I love.”
Speaking in her native tongue has always been something that she is proud of, and Bonga says she was inspired to take to the airwaves by the likes of legendary isiXhosa broadcaster, Noxolo Grootboom.
“I love the isiXhosa language, when I was listening to former newsreaders who are retired now they were my inspiration because they love the language and how they execute themselves live on air. There were radio broadcasters who I looked up to and one of them was the legendary, Noxolo Grootboom. The way they read the news in our language sounded so simple and they also made you laugh so that was why I pursued this career.”
Bonga had this parting advice for young girls and women looking to join the world of sports broadcasting on radio.
“It’s a very challenging industry because in most cases you have to prove yourself because it used to be a male-dominated industry and still is. If you want to be in this industry, you have to work extra hard as much as you know your work, you have to prove to others that you know what you are doing. It comes with pressure and you have to be someone who can handle that.
“You have to know your story and not just be a pretty face or a nice voice, you have to understand the codes. You must know your codes and be able to ask (the right) questions, and not expose yourself as someone who doesn’t know what they are doing. You have to do your research, make friends with people who follow the codes, the different codes that you want to write, talk about, and do interviews on.”
Main Photo Caption: Winning on the gsport awards stage has seen Noloyiso Bonga garner much attention for her achievement. Bonga won the Woman in Radio gong at the recent Momentum gsport Awards where she beat the likes of former winner Tholakele Mnganga and Mahlodi Ranku to the honour. All Photos: Supplied
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