Lerato Mbele has left CNBC Africa (DStv 410), resigning with immediate effect, and leaving the African business channel without its star anchor and network executives scrambling to fill presenter gaps on the schedule.
Lerato Mbele who left the SABC and joined the African business channel's as it's star anchor when CNBC Africa launched in 2007 had apparently had enough. She resigned on Wednesday and left immediately. CNBC Africa made no announcement to the press and hasn't acknowledged Lerato Mbele's sudden on-air absence. Media enquiries to CNBC Africa made Tuesday evening about Lerato Mbele and what happened, were not immediately returned.
Lerato Mbele dumped CNBC Africa last week with apparently a lot of bad blood between her and the channel, slamming CNBC Africa and reportedly saying ''I had my doubts about the decision when I left the SABC to join them''.
Leaving CNBC Africa was apparently one of Lerato Mbele's New Year's resolutions she made in January after threatening to leave in September 2011. She presented The Regional Round Up, Captains of Industry and got her new business show Beyond Markets in June 2010.
Meanwhile CNBC Africa quickly wiped all traces of the senior anchor from the CNBC Africa website.
It's a shocking development and a sad end for both Lerato Mbele as well as the business channel. Both had much more buzz and street cred when CNBC Africa launched four years ago but both Lerato Mbele and CNBC Africa lost a lot of both as interest radically declined and withered the past few years.
