Did eNCA put Pule Mabe’s teleprompter in the wrong place?

ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe was the second politician to take the hot seat at news channel eNCA on Tuesday night after the EFF’s Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi’s stint on Monday night.

Like Ndlozi, he used the first part of his time on the half-hour slot, As It Happens, to discuss a few points that were important to the ANC, such as the Gaza-Israel conflict and ANC governance issues.

However, unlike Ndlozi, Mabe did not look nearly as comfortable and self-assured, and for some reason kept looking askance at his teleprompter, leaving one to wonder if some mischievous person in the studio had moved his teleprompter to the wrong place.

It left the strange impression that Mabe wasn’t talking to the TV audience as intended, but rather to some unrevealed person in the studio.

Take a look below:

People on Twitter also noticed.

Which camera was he focused on from the beginning?#AsItHappens

— Cyrus Da virus (@4Teddyshow) May 15, 2018

Nah,let me go to bed….Pule sounds like a Scorpion Legal ad #asithappens

— Gubevu (@Maldaka) May 15, 2018

There were other little mishaps, such as a slightly confused Mabe saying: “Welcome back,” right as the channel went to an ad break. Some people thought this was evidence of a conspiracy that the show wasn’t “Live”, as advertised.

https://twitter.com/4everSiya/status/996453346985816065

LOL shame man this is not easy at all. I can tell Mr Mabe is distracted by the information being fed to him via the earpiece. #AsItHappens

— leratokganyago (@Leratokganyago) May 15, 2018

All of this, of course, is perfectly forgivable, but does give you an appreciation for professional news anchors who actually know what they’re doing.

Mabe should probably stick to his day job.

Haha somebody please give Pule a glass of water during this much needed ad break #AsItHappens @eNCA pic.twitter.com/gRz9gVKIzQ

— Tshangisa (@monde_mangala) May 15, 2018

Following the ad break, Mabe interviewed Mahlatse Mahlase, the SA National Editors’ Forum chairperson, where the topics were fake news and the upholding of standards in the newsroom.

Mahlatse Mphoentle Gallens @hlatseentle now joins the anchor, Pule Mabe @pulemabe, the ANC National Spokesperson as he anchors #AsItHappens on 403 pic.twitter.com/Cj92fy42WQ

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— Lerato Monethi (@MonethiLerato) May 15, 2018

In an obvious reference to Mabe’s own recent unhappiness at an “inaccurate” headline in a weekly newspaper that ran an exposé about him, Mabe asked Mahlatse why editors published headlines that were radically different to the facts in an article.

Mahlatse said such actions were against the Press Code, and people could complain about it to the ombudsman. They could then get apologies and retractions in the event that the conduct was not in line with the code.

Mabe became increasingly assured as the segment continued. By the end of the show, in the final segment when people called in, he was fortunately looking at the camera throughout.

Take a look at some of the Twitter reaction below:

Mahlatse Mphoentle Gallens @hlatseentle now joins the anchor, Pule Mabe @pulemabe, the ANC National Spokesperson as he anchors #AsItHappens on 403 pic.twitter.com/EqebMKH4Ba

— African National Congress (@MYANC) May 15, 2018

After @MbuyiseniNdlozi today's episode is a letdown #AsItHappens pic.twitter.com/v7cbx2MCZN

— Khanyisile (@ke_Khanyi) May 15, 2018

#PuleMabe #AsitHappens 😂😂😂😯😯😢😢 pic.twitter.com/A6N1TVbGFR

— Lucky Evans Chairman (@LuckyEvansChair) May 15, 2018

Quite frankly @pulemabe Mabe has chosen a very good and interesting topic. Very informative as a practicing Journalist and his guest @hlatseentle is providing clarity. #AsItHappens pic.twitter.com/OjJERLJfQE

— #LordOfTheMedia (@samkelemaseko) May 15, 2018

#AsItHappens this is not pule mabe it's that robot character from chicken likin called sbu 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/7rdIcYdXV9

— 100%Mac 🍟🍔🥤 (@macdonaldmtilen) May 15, 2018

Someone please tell Pule Mabe that he is not answering questions after the Irene NEC emergency meeting. He is so uncomfortable 😂#AsItHappens pic.twitter.com/2bZzZZL1JM

— Life (@Botshelo4Life) May 15, 2018

https://twitter.com/TheBeau_TZN/status/996452588928331777