No one must call an African child a rat in SA: EFF calls for eNCA boycott

By JONISAYI MAROMO

File picture: Nhlanhla Phillips/African News Agency(ANA).

PRETORIA - The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on Thursday called on South Africans to boycott television news channel eNCA.

The party made the statement in response to the alleged harassment, and resignation, of political reporter Samkele Maseko, and the alleged abuse of another reporter, Khayelihle James Khumalo.

"South Africans must unite in totally boycotting eNCA, both from watching it and attending to its news requests and events. No one must call an African child a rat in our country and it just becomes business as usual," said EFF national spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi.

The Julius Malema-led opposition party condemned the news channel "for its racist treatment of African journalists". 

"In a tweet, one of its [eNCA] managers called journalist Samkele Maseko a rat on social media, after firing him. We also have reliable information that eNCA placed Khayelihle Khumalo under suspension for tweeting about the EFF second national people’s assembly from his personal account," said Ndlozi.

"The EFF condemns these actions as a sign of total deterioration of leadership, principles and ethics within the eNCA. In fact, when it comes to the EFF, the institution has become personal."

Kanthan Pillay, eNCA’s head of news, has come under severe criticism, particularly on social media, following Maseko's resignation earlier this week.

Several journalists were on Thursday speaking out in damning terms about how allegedly "toxic" Pillay was in the workplace. 

Pillay joined eNCA shortly after the 2019 general elections when his political party, the Capitalist Party of South Africa, contested the May 8 elections nationally. 

The party, nicknamed the "purple cows", achieved about 12,000 votes and fell short of attaining any parliamentary seats.

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