SABC anchor Peter Ndoro apologises for 'killing off' Mangosuthu Buthelezi

22 January 2018 - 11:01
By Kyle Zeeman
SABC News anchor Peter Ndoro has apologised to the nation for an on-air slip up‚ which saw him declare politician Mangosuthu Buthelezi as dead.
Image: Antonio Muchave SABC News anchor Peter Ndoro has apologised to the nation for an on-air slip up‚ which saw him declare politician Mangosuthu Buthelezi as dead.

In a news report about the death of former Bophuthatswana leader Lucas Manyane Mangope‚ Ndoro mistakenly declared that it was IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi who died.

He then introduced and spoke to Buthelezi to get reaction to Mangope's death.

A video clip of the error went viral over the weekend‚ with users and celebs weighing in on the debacle.

As the internet debated who was to blame for the blunder‚ Ndoro issued a public apology for the mistake.

"It was my fault entirely. It happens sometimes you think about another person as you want to say someone else’s name. I only realised afterwards what I had done. I’m sure it has happened to us all. Being human is not an exact science. An honest slip of the mind. Sorry‚" he wrote in a statement.

Meanwhile‚ sports presenter Mpho Maboi took to social media to defend Ndoro from criticism‚ saying it happened to even the most seasoned veterans.

"No one is above live TV. With all the experience in world‚ it sometimes gets the better of you."

She slammed a fan's suggestion that something more sinister than a simple error may have been at play.

"I really think he made a genuine mistake but because live TV doesn’t lwazi give us that moment to recover‚ it was difficult for him to make a comeback. Or he genuinely forgot Mangope’s name and the autocue just had Buthelezi’s name on. I really am not sure but it went south very quickly."