Yfm DJ reveals his HIV positive status on radio

For four hours every Sunday morning, Yfm DJ Khabzela preached safe sex. Now he is asking for support after disclosing that he is HIV-positive. Khabzela, whose real name is Fana Khaba, made the announcement on the radio station at 6am on Friday.

He had been on and off air for the past month, and this week he was at his weakest. His co-host, Dreshni Pillay, had been running the show on her own in the meantime.

Siphiwe Mpye, public relations officer for Yfm, said Khabzela had been feeling ill for a long time and his condition had recently deteriorated to the point where he was barely able to walk. Neither doctors nor traditional healers had been able to help.


"He confronted his fears and went for an HIV test. He tested positive," Mpye said. In his pre-recorded message broadcast on Friday, Khabzela, sounding brave, said: "Hey people I'm a bit sick. I went to take some rest and go and see a doctor to find out why I get tired. Maybe it was stress because we keep working all the time. The doctor said: 'You know what, you are HIV-positive'.

"I didn't take it well because I've always been preaching it on the radio every Sunday on PYG (Positive Youth of Gauteng). Mistakes happen in the world. I'm asking for your support."

PYG is a concept started by Khabzela and aimed at the positive upliftment of the youth of Gauteng. He counselled callers, motivating them and advising them on the difficult situations they were faced with.

"It is even more imperative that we get this show off the ground. We want to encourage the youth to embrace opportunities and have faith in themselves," Mpye said.

'He never said that I don't do A, B or C'
Khabzela, a former taxi driver, became an overnight sensation on Yfm when his weekend show The Jam Shack in 1999 became the most listened-to programme on Yfm.

"Before his current show DK@Y, he was Yfm's breakfast host, having replaced Phat Joe.

"I don't think this is a slap in his face. He didn't put himself on a pedestal or claim that he was not susceptible.

"He never said that I don't do A, B or C, but reinforced a caring attitude and said that HIV was everyone's problem," Mpye said.

He added that, if anything, Khabzela's actions were a tribute to those who were suffering the same fate. "He is the kind of person who encourages people to go for testing and not discriminate, and talk about HIV," Mpye said.

Meanwhile a disturbing trend among young people has been revealed in a survey conducted by the Sowetan newspaper. The report stated that most young sexually active people only use a condom on their first encounter with new partners, and thereafter use no protection. Of 25 girls among the 220 people interviewed, 19 said they only used condoms on their first night. The respondents were aged between the early teens and 35 years of age.

Of the men spoken to, many didn't use condoms, and five of them suspected that they were already infected, so their attitude was "why not go ahead and enjoy" sex without protection.