Makhado FM´s beauty contest, which was held at the Rivoni Society for the Blind auditorium hall last Saturday, ended with blood flowing. This was after the station manager, Mr Moses Muneri, was assaulted with an empty cold drink bottle on the head.

According to a source close to Mirror, Mr Muneri was hit with an empty bottle while he was assisting with the security at the entrance of the hall. "Muneri was standing at the entrance as a security officer, when an unknown man hit him with a bottle on the head. Muneri started bleeding and the contest could not go on," the source said.

From what could be established, shortly after Muneri was assaulted, he went up on stage and told the crowd that the contest had ended and he stopped the proceedings. There were about 15 contestants who had entered for the Miss Makhado FM beauty pageant. Muneri is said to have opened a case at the Waterval police station.

The spokesperson for the Waterval SAPS, W/O Kedibone Mabatha, was not available for comment when contacted this week.

Sources from within the radio station this week expressed their concern that the assault may not have been incidental. It follows less than a week after staff members threatened with protest actions. They accused Muneri of running the radio station "like his own spaza shop". One person was of the opinion that Muneri´s beating might have been caused by the angry presenters who are crossing swords with him on the issue of salaries. "One of my friends, who is a presenter at the station, told me that they were only paid a ´salary´ of between R50 and R350 after working for three months," said the source.

He added that most of the presenters, including the news editor Mr Justice Mphaphuli, might soon tender their resignation, because they are accusing Muneri of being a dictator who does not take collective decisions.

Mphaphuli refused to comment when confronted with this. Mr Moses Muneri also did not answer his cellphone.