by Thinus Ferreira
The eNCA (DStv 403) political reporter Samkele Maseko is abruptly gone from the TV news channel where he was a rising star and apologised to his now-former eNCA colleagues for not saying goodbye after handing in his resignation on Tuesday.
Samkele Maseko isn't serving a notice period but left the Hyde Park based TV newsroom immediately after resigning on Tuesday since he's leaving eNCA "for greener pastures".
There's been no statement from eNCA about Samkele Maseko's exit.
It's not yet clear where he's going to although rival channels like SABC News (DStv 404) and Newzroom Afrika (DStv 405) are options and have been headhunting eNCA staffers, especially Newzroom Africa that has been expanding its own operations.
"To my former eNCA colleagues I apologize for not staying goodbye," said Samkele Maseko on social media on Tuesday. "Such is the nature of such things, just continue kicking ass. We shall meet again somewhere soon," he said on Twitter.
"To cut the speculation, this is what happened. I resigned from eNCA today for greener pastures. There was no sinister motive or agenda. It had nothing to do with their decision to no longer broad the EFF conference. I couldn’t serve notice as per their decision."
To my former Colleagues @eNCA I apologize for not staying goodbye. Such is the nature of such things , just continue kicking ass. We shall meet again somewhere soon.... pic.twitter.com/vme8hrQTeP— #TheLordOfTheMedia (@samkelemaseko) December 17, 2019
To cut the speculation, this is what happened. I resigned from @eNCA today for greener pastures. There was no sinister motive or agenda. It had nothing to do with their decision to no longer broad the @EFFSouthAfrica conference. I couldn’t serve notice as per their decision.— #TheLordOfTheMedia (@samkelemaseko) December 17, 2019
In April 2019 the reporter briefly became part of the news cycle when the ANC politician Jessie Duarte lashed out at him in an ugly rant at a press briefing with her verbal tirade directed at him and the media that went viral.
The SABC's SABC News division, broadcasting the shocking incident from its own camera angle, revealed how Jessie Duarte told the SABC to turn its camera off before she launched into her attack on eNCA and Samkele Maseko.
The SABC not only kept its camera rolling but also broadcast how Jessie Duarte told the SABC to switch its camera off.
At the ANC press briefing Jessie Duarte laid into Samkele Maseko, slamming him as "the worst bully I've ever come across", saying he was "arrogantly disposed" and that he believes he is "the lord of media" - a moniker which has become Samkele Maseko's nickname of sorts the past few months.
