Seemah Mangolwane has been announced as one of the presenters of a new podcast, Not Sorry, produced by Glitch Africa Studios.
The musician and presenter will co-host Not Sorry alongside Munaka Muthambi, Nomthandazo Nkosi and Rei Nkuna.
In a social media post announcing her new role, the podcast described Seemah as someone who speaks her mind.
“Your everyday favourite host… Zero apologies, maximum chaos. Meet the one who will say what everyone was thinking but was too scared to type in the comments.”
The announcement comes two months after Seemah left Spreading Humours, a show on Podcast and Chill Network, in March.
Seemah made headlines last year after being linked to promotional campaigns for the Alabuga Start Programme, which was widely described as a suspected trafficking scheme. The programme targeted young women aged 18 to 22 from Africa and other developing countries with work opportunities in Russia.
She was among influencers, including Cyan Boujee, Aya Langa and Siyamthanda Anita, who promoted the programme.
An investigation by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GIATOC) later found that some young women recruited through the programme were allegedly misled about the work they would be doing. The report, based on interviews with 60 participants, linked the facility to the production of Geran-2 combat drones and said some recruits handled hazardous chemicals.
The investigation also found that many participants were not fully informed about their duties before travelling.
Seemah’s response and apology
In a statement released at the time, Seemah said she was unaware of the allegations surrounding the programme when she accepted the campaign.
“I found the campaign appealing and saw it as a chance to travel abroad – why not?” she said.
She said she spent three days in Russia and interviewed some of the young women at the facility.
“They said they are going home for the holidays and they are happy and fine. Everything seemed normal, so I was shocked,” Seemah said.
She also apologised for her involvement.
“I apologise for being ignorant and putting young people’s lives in danger,” she said.
