Broadcasting Services Jenfan Muswere fires ZBC board and two presenters
Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Jenfan Muswere has fired the ZBC board and two presenters following their reckless Lobengula comments.
Yesterday, the presenters on ZBC’s Good Morning Zimbabwe, Farai Juliet Magada and Victoria Manase, spoke about apartheid in South Africa. For some reason, they included 19th-century Ndebele King Lobengula in the discussion. They said he sold the country for sugar.
The comments raised ire online as people wondered how ZBC aired such remarks. People complained that the comments were too tribal, false and insensitive.
The two female presenters also said colonialism was somewhat justified because the country was modernised.
The Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting has dismissed the ZBC board over the comments. He also suspended Manase and Magada, two presenters.
Besides the sensitive comments, he also fired the Dr Josaya Tai-led board over several key performance and corporate governance issues at ZBC. Other members of the board are Thomas Bvuma, Tsitsi Dangarembizi, Heliate Rushwaya, Dorothy Mabika, Devnanda Popatla, Reverend Thompson Dube and Brian Mutangandebvu.
“The minister (Muswere) has dismissed the ZBC board and got the acting ZBC chief (who is currently standing in for Adelaide Chikunguru away on holiday leave) to suspend those two ignorant presenters who are peddling old tribal myths and lies on national television. Their show was scandalous. Interestingly, one of the presenters (Magada) is the lady who was entangled in the messy Robson Mhandu s3x scandal at ZBC.”
