When President Thabo Mbeki announced newly-appointed SABC board chairman Khanyi-siwe Mkhonza as the one to occupy this hot seat ahead of front-runner, corporate lawyer Christine Qunta, the question on everyone's lips became: Who is she?

The mother of two was born in Soweto.

"Those who do not know me have no understanding of the development of community radio in this country. I am happy though that a lot of people do not know me because it means people will have to watch out and see what I am going to do [at the SABC]," she told Sowetan.

But who is she?

Mkhonza is not new to the media. She headed the Media Diversity and Development Agency (MDDA) for five years from its inception until her appointment in December. She worked in community radio for 10 years before that.

While at the helm of the MDDA, it successfully funded 60 commercial and community media ventures and achieved unqualified audit reports for the five-year period.

One MDDA funded-media venture in Soweto collapsed before it even started.