Following the spread of a video that contained sexual connotations, Bishop Israel Makamu has decided to step down from his presenting gig on Moja Love.
In a statement released this week, the channel said that it has accepted the star’s decision to voluntarily step down.
Makamu was identified as the person behind a voice recording of a telephonic conversation that is alleged to have sexual connotations.
“Moja Love (DStv 157) has accepted Bishop Makamu’s decision to voluntarily step down from the channel pending an internal investigation after a recording with sexual connotations has been circulating on social media.
“As a channel, we will be conducting an internal investigation before Bishop Makamu is reinstated back to the channel,” read part of the statement issued on Twitter.
In the alleged recording that went viral this week, the “Rea Tsotella” presenter is heard asking the woman if she was alone as he planned to go and see her.
He then proceeds to ask the lady, “o tlo mpha? (will you give me)”, to which the lady, who also happens to refer to him as “daddy”, replies with a “no” multiple times before giving in and saying she would do so on Sunday.
Makamu is a pastor in real life at the Endless Hope Bible Church in Alberton and features in a number of shows on the channel, including AmaBishop.
The channel said the bishop admitted that it was his voice in the viral recording, however, he denied that the conversation was sexual.
“On consultation with the channel, Bishop Makamu maintains that he is innocent and says that the recording dates back to 2017.
“He says the lady in the recording worked for him and their conversation was not sexual in any manner and it was altered to extort money from him.
“He says he thought the matter had been resolved back then, but it suddenly emerged again three weeks ago. Bishop Makamu suspects his character is being assassinated.”
They added that while they have the bishop's version of events, they would do a rigorous investigation to establish the truth around the circumstances of the recording.
“As a channel, we take this recording very seriously. We have started with an internal investigation and are reaching out to the lady in the recording to find out the events around the recording.
“One of our properties, AmaBishop, reveals behind the scenes shenanigans that pastors and bishops engage in and impose on the public.
“We cannot ignore a recording of this nature where one of our hosts is implicated. We have to establish the facts and truth before Makamu comes back as part of the team,” said Moja Love’s Head of Channel Bokani Moyo.
Bishop I Makamu voluntarily steps down from Moja LOVE. pic.twitter.com/40bHwBbWha