Phumzile Van Damme scolds media for joking about Hlaudi

Former SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng was interviewed on SABC News on Tuesday, with one of the broadcaster’s journalists, Leanne Manas, saying he was “back in the hot seat” to answer questions about his tenure.

Outspoken DA MP Phumzile Van Damme was unimpressed, expressing her view that while she was “all for giving what is newsworthy coverage” and allowing the SABC to decide what that is, the public broadcaster should not “continue to give platform to a man who is responsible for the SABC’s current financial crisis the platform to wax lyrical about himself”.

READ MORE: Hlaudi Motsoeneng says his next job will be as SA president

Her second tweet appeared to take the media as a whole to task for their coverage of Motsoeneng.

She said she remembered the reporting on the former SABC COO and that it “hasn’t changed much”.

“Always in a tone of lightheartedness, in jest, a joke, not taking into account the seriousness of his crimes,” she continued.

According to the politician, 2,200 SABC staff are set to lose their jobs because of Motsoeneng’s poor leadership, which can be no laughing matter.

“We’re expected to be still laughing? I see nothing funny,” she said.

Whether you’re looking for outrage or laughter, the former SABC COO did not disappoint in the SABC interview with presenter Sakina Kamwendo, in which he repeated his longstanding opinion that he had actually been good for the broadcaster.

“‘When I was here, everything was running smoothly,” he claimed.

He also said the Guptas’ notorious New Age Breakfasts had been a good idea.

One reaction on Twitter was unlikely to please Van Damme.

A user called Motsoeneng’s time in the “hot seat” “the most entertaining interview” on SABC “for a long time”, adding that he should be a correspondent on The Daily Show. The tweet even copied in Daily Show host Trevor Noah.

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