Radio’s Akani Malobola: Tuned into his Faith

by Daluxolo Moloantoa · January 4, 2023

Radio personality Akani Malobola had a revelation while attending World Youth Day in Rio, and he met his wife through Radio Veritas. He spoke to Daluxolo Moloantoa.

World Youth Day 2013 came as a blessing in many ways for radio presenter Akani Malobola. It was at the triennial international Catholic youth gathering in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where “as clear as day, God revealed his purpose for my life”, he recalled. It is a calling which has taken him on a journey of self-discovery, a wide-ranging media ministry, and a rewarding vocation through the sacrament of marriage.

Akani, who currently presents an evening show on LM Radio, was born on February 7, 1991, in Mamelodi, Pretoria, the younger of two brothers to a school principal father and a former municipality worker mother. He was baptised in the Presbyterian Church, but grew up in the Catholic Church. “I became a Catholic when my mother made a return to her Catholic roots,” Akani said.

Among his earliest memories of being a Catholic is going to confession for the first time, in preparation for his First Holy Communion. “A very significant memory I have is of the safe and welcoming space at my parish. It was there where I felt encouraged to ask difficult questions about God, in order to get to know him better.”

An early start in the media industry landed him an intern position at MTV Africa, a music television channel. But his career took off after his pilgrimage to World Youth Day 2013. Acting on the revelation he received in Rio de Janeiro, he decided to become a part-time radio presenter. Having submitted a demo tape — recorded at Radio Veritas’ studios — to the Christian radio station Impact Radio, he was roped into the team on a part-time basis. Over five years, he honed and developed his skills in the radio industry. “It was while I was with Impact Radio that I realised that God wanted me to spread his message on a full-time basis through the medium,” he said.

Akani Malobola with the late Fr Emil Blaser OP at the 20th-anniversary celebrations of Radio Veritas in 2019.

Going on Radio Veritas

In 2014, Akani approached the late Radio Veritas founder, Fr Emil Blaser OP, with the idea of initiating a marketing department at Radio Veritas. His idea received a nod from Fr Blaser, and Akani joined Radio Veritas as a marketing and communications coordinator.

It was during this period when Fr Blaser and Radio Veritas station manager Khanya Litabe needed a presenter for the station’s “YouthWise” and “Changing Gears” programmes. They proposed the idea for Akani taking up the position. He welcomed the idea of switching roles, and became a presenter on both programmes at the station.

From Radio Veritas, Akani’s career spun off to other roles, including stints in public relations and IT communications at several companies.

Alongside this came the opportunity to create voice-over advertisements for a number of well-known South African brands. “I’ve worked on advertising campaigns for local brands such as Nedbank, Nestlé, the Auditor-General South Africa, and others. My most recent campaign can be heard in-store at Builder’s Warehouse hardwares nationwide.”

Radio is the medium which has provided Akani with the best memories in his career so far, especially his time at Radio Veritas. “A highlight of my time at there was our marketing and communications campaign in preparation for the beatification of Bl Benedict Daswa. I felt very privileged to be part of the team which created the station’s merchandising material for the cause. We sold T-shirts, caps and candles as our contribution to the cause,” he said.

“A second highlight was my time as the station’s official correspondent at World Youth Day 2016 in Krakow, Poland. Getting to report from the event and interviewing priests, nuns, bishops, cardinals and young people from across the world was truly a life-changing experience, in a similar way to my experience in Brazil three years earlier,” he explained.

Akani and his wife Chantelle on their wedding day last year.

Wedding bells were ringing

Akani’s time at Radio Veritas, from 2014-19, also presented him with another life-changing moment. It was through the radio station that he met his wife, Chantelle. “While I was a presenter for the ‘YouthWise’ and ‘Changing Gears’ programmes, I promoted a Radio Veritas Leadership Camp. My future mother-in-law responded to the promotion, and it was at the camp where I met my Chantelle.”

The couple was married by Fr Patrick Dladla at Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Rivonia, Johannesburg. Apart from praying together at home, the couple are active parishioners of their parish, St Thomas More church in Centurion. “We keep our marriage grounded in Christ. We also take part in various marriage-enrichment ecumenical activities and seminars. It also helps that some of our closest friends are fellow Christians too,” said Akani, who attended his third World Youth Day in 2019, in Panama City, with Chantelle.

Akani recently became a presenter on LM Radio, presenting the “SA Gold” music programme on weekdays from 21:00 to 23:00. In spite of his busy schedule, he is also a proclaimer and a member of the St Thomas More Men’s Forum. Recently he also became his parish’s facilitator for the Pretoria archdiocesan synod.

He believes that it is necessary that professional Catholics are seen to be giving back to the Church, and to society in general. “God blesses us to be a blessing to others,” Akani said.

“We are the hands and the feet entrusted to take care of his Church, so that all of God’s people can experience his provision spiritually, emotionally and materially. The future of the Church is dependent on its self-sufficiency.”