The producers and a presenter of the SABC2 afternoon youth timeslot Hectic Nine-9 are apologising for the racist comments the presenter Samora Mangesi made last week, saying his behaviour on live televsion was "distateful, insensitive and completely unacceptable".
The SABC2 youth presenter will now undergo formal tolerance counselling.
Samora Mangesi on Wednesday on SABC2 mocked coloured people's pronunciation of the word "Pac-Man" on-air, similar to eNCA anchor Andrew Barnes who was suspended and given a disciplinary hearing earlier this year after mocking the minister of basic education, Angie Motshekga's pronunciation of "epitome" during a news broadcast.
In a recorded message, Samora Mangesi who joined Hectic Nine-9 in mid-2013 is now apologising, saying "I was talking about old-school gaming and I made a joke regarding coloured people's pronunciation of the word Pac-Man".
"I know that my remarks were grossly distateful and very inappropriate and I know that I offended a lot of avid fans and avid viewers of the show as well and I'd like to apologise wholeheartedly for that".
"I know that what I said was very ignorant and extremely childish. I regret what I said and it was never my intent to hurt anyone's feelings or make anyone feel bad about themselves. It was sincerely just a joke between two colleagues and two friends," said Samora Mangesi.
"I have since learnt that anything that I say, even if it's in jest, can impact people's lives in a negative or positive way. I am extremely sorry and I promise to do better next that I'm on air."
Shelly Scheepers from Okuhle Media says the production company doing the show for SABC2 wants to sincerely apologise for the racial comment made by Samora Mangesi during the live broadcast.
"The producers of Hectic Nine-9 fully acknowledge the severity of his comment and we are taking it very seriously."
"As we are a live show it is not always possible for us to have 100% control over what happens while we are on air, this is the one unfortunate thing about the live television environment."
"We agree that what Samora said in jest was distasteful, insensitive and completely unacceptable, and wish to distance the show from this view."
Samora Mangesi will now undergo formal counselling in tolerance, says Shelly Scheepers.
Samora's Apology
We would like to sincerely apologise for the racial comment made by our presenter Samora Mangesi on the live broadcast of Hectic Nine-9 on Wednesday, 3rd February 2016.The Producers of Hectic Nine-9 fully acknowledge the severity of his comment and we are taking it very seriously. As we are a live show it is not always possible for us to have 100% control over what happens while we are on air, this is the one unfortunate thing about the live television environment.We agree that what Samora said in jest was distasteful, insensitive and completely unacceptable, and wish to distance the show from this view.We are in discussion with Samora and he will offer a more formal apology to our viewers. He will unreservedly retract the statement and undergo formal counsel in tolerance.RegardsHN9 TEAM
Posted by Hectic Nine-9 on Tuesday, February 9, 2016
