This archive report was first published on 23 June 2020.
On June 23, 2020, Royal Media Services (RMS) sent shockwaves through the media industry by issuing redundancy letters to some of its top journalists and presenters, following in the footsteps of Mediamax Limited-owned K24 TV, which had laid off its entire newsroom staff the day before.
Among those affected are popular radio presenters Shix Kapienga, who hosted Drop Zone on Hot 96 FM, and Syombua Osiany, who hosted Pambazuka on Radio Citizen. Other radio presenters, including John Maloba and Himenigilder Mugeni, have also been let go.
Employees in other departments are expected to learn of their fate within the course of the week, with early reports indicating that two highly placed TV presenters are already facing the sack.
This latest development comes less than a year after the company sacked 160 employees in October 2019. In February 2020, there were rumors that the media house would lay off some of its employees, citing hard economic times. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country in March, the media house announced a general salary reduction for all its staff, stating that its workers would be subjected to a compulsory pay cut of between 20% and 30%.
