Enraged South Africans want the head of Stephen Grootes placed on the spike for a cringe error he made on live television.
Stephen Grootes: Why is Mzansi calling for his axing?
Grootes, a news anchor for Newzroom Afrika was caught in a snag after he falsely reported that EFF leaders Julius Malema and Mbuyiseni Ndlozi were in court for murdering a police official.
This, of course, is wildly untrue. Instead, Malema and Ndlozi appeared at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court, on Tuesday, on assault charges in an incident that took place at Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s funeral in 2018.
Following this mishap, Grootes returned to the newsstand to issue an apology to the EFF leadership and viewers for the misleading information.
Earlier today, Stephen Grootes mistakenly referred to the current case involving EFF leader Julius Malema & Mbuyiseni Ndlozi as that of "killing” as opposed to assault. Stephen apologised immediately thereafter. We regret the error & extend our apology to Mr Malema & Mr Ndlozi. pic.twitter.com/j5xLRiUh1H
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) March 9, 2021
Unfortunately, the apology fell on deaf ears and the EFF want further action taken against Grootes who has already been tagged a racist, much like his peer Lindsay Dentlinger.
“It is the most idiotic and dangerous comment, idiotic firstly because the supposedly dead Johannes Venter has testified himself at court proceedings, and dangerous because it gives an impression to millions of viewers that the leadership of the EFF is on trial for murder,” the party’s statement read.
Is Grootes really a racist journalist?
The EFF and its supporters have piled on the pressure to have Newzroom Afrika take necessary action against the anchor.
The question of Grootes’ belief system in issues of race is a subjective one that requires a bit more in-depth information, than emotionally driven social media rhetoric.
We took a look at the anchor’s history and here’s what we know:
- he is a multi-award winning journalist;
- he is a Capetonian and Rhodes University graduate;
- he has worked for EWN for almost 10 years;
- he is a regular Daily Maverick contributor;
- he authored a book titled SA Politics Unspun, a need-to-know directory on the country’s political landscape;
- he brands himself as the ‘thorn’ on the side of politicians;
Newzroom Afrika has yet to make a formal decision on the anchor’s future which, at this point, looks bleak.