SABC TV News Anchor Peter Ndoro will be taking a break from presenting the evening news with immediate effect.
Ndoro’s told management that he was fatigued and they’ve agreed on an indefinite break. This follows an error during Thursday’s evening news in which he announced the death of newly-elected President Cyril Ramaphosa, instead of Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
Last month, Ndoro made a similar error when he announced that Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi had died instead of former homeland leader Kgosi Lucas Mangope.
Ndoro has since apologised to the President’s office and his apology has been accepted. SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago says the broadcaster takes these types of mistakes very seriously.
“We have engaged with him especially because this is not the first time and error like this happens. We have discovered that he is fatigued and both of us decided that he shou8ld take leave from the programme and then we will deal with this matter in that way. At the moment it is a matter that we are handling with him and we just want him to really rest. He has been hectic on the programmes, especially in the recent times.”
CLICK BELOW TO LISTEN TO KGANYAGO:
MEDIA STATEMENT
THE SABC ACKNOWLEDGES THE ON-AIR ERROR BY MR PETER NDORO
Johannesburg – Friday, 16 February 2018 – The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has noted with concern an on-air error which occurred last night on the 18h00 television news bulletin. In this bulletin, Mr. Peter Ndoro rendered a news item to announce the death of the leader of Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai. Mr. Ndoro erroneously announced that President Cyril Ramaphosa has passed away instead of announcing the name of Mr. Tsvangirai.
In as much as we acknowledge that this is a human error, we take this matter in a very serious light as it is not only embarrassing but could potentially affect those involved negatively.
In the light of the event, News Management has since engaged Mr. Ndoro and he indicated that he is fatigued and needed some time to rest. Management has agreed to his request and he will be taking a break from the show. Mr. Ndoro has apologized to the President’s office and his apology has been accepted.
The SABC would like to ensure all its audiences that it remains fully committed to delivering news that is fair, balanced and accurate.
