THE headlines read "Sikwane leaves Home for home" when Thabiso Sikwane left her evening show Home on Kaya FM to focus on life at home as a mother and a wife to DJ Fresh.

Three years later, she is back on air, having joined Power FM as a replacement for Azania Mosaka in the midday to 3pm slot.

It's a season for new beginnings for the radio star. Although reluctant to divulge details, Sikwane is visibly pregnant. She is so protective of her unborn third child that she would not pose standing for our cameraman.

Steering clear of any baby talk, Sikwane is not bothered that she joins a station that has experienced an unrelenting exodus of big name talent.

Mosaka's departure followed that of Siki Mgabadeli, Asanda Magaqa, McIntosh Polela and Eusebius McKaiser.

"I don't know why people left and it's got nothing to do with me," she says. "For me it's a good time to get back to radio because I have taken three years off and the timing is perfect.

"I feel like I've done what I wanted to do during my break, and it's just a great opportunity to do what I love."

Sikwane kept herself busy during her sabbatical by running her swimming school, something she had been doing even during her time at Kaya FM. Her family also took much of her time.

"Our kids needed one of us to be fully focused on them because our son is very sporty and our daughter had just started pre-school. I wanted to be there," she says.

"I was raised by my aunt," she says.

"I remember as a child wishing for my mother to be there. My aunt played an amazing role as a parent but it's not always the same because you want mama. So I wanted to be there for my kids, be there for the match from beginning to end because when I was working I'd just drop off my son and I wouldn't watch the whole match. I also wasn't able to have dinner with the family."

She says working with two producers in Lunga Nene and Sbuyile Ganxa makes her job easier and enjoyable as they are all on the same page with the show's mandate.

"We'll try and provide good quality radio that is entertaining, informing and engaging," she says.

Sikwane is excited by the state of radio in South Africa today. "We're such a diverse country, so it's exciting whether on music or talk format, that more voices are being heard. I recently heard there's going to be a radio station in Tafelkop, Limpopo.

"There's so much talent. For me, the more radio stations we have, the more we can explore this talent. I'm also glad we're hearing more female voices. They are talking analysis and politics."

Being married to DJ Fresh, one of the most prominent radio and club DJs in the land, doesn't faze her. "It's like being Mrs anybody else, except the fact that because of the brand that he is and that I am.

"It just means a bit more consideration about the way I live my life, about what we do together and our kids as well. Other than that, we're just a normal family and couple."

Settling in at the station, Sikwane says she is getting familiar with the listeners and establishing rapport. "The next phase will be to follow the mandate in terms of what I'm told to do with the show."

tiwaneb@timesmedia.co.za