by Thinus Ferreira
The South African TV news channel Newzroom Afrika (DStv 405) has removed Aldrin Sampear after an alleged road rage assault.
The belligerent Aldrin Sampear was caught on video camera footage, shared widely on social media, in an alleged road rage incident that took place on Thursday, 17 April in Randburg, Johannesburg.
The 20-year-old Laricia Augusto was involved in a collision on Jan Smuts Avenue between the vehicle she was driving and the vehicle of Aldrin Sampear.
According to Laricia Augusto, Aldrin Sampear "practically glued himself to my bumper, hooting aggressively. I had no idea what his issue was, but to avoid any drama, I moved back into the left lane to let him pass. That’s when things turned nasty."
According to her, Aldrin Sampear then abruptly swerved in front of her car, after which both stopped and the incident caught on video followed.
Laricia Augusto laid charges. I her video she can he heard saying "Why are you hitting me?"
Aldrin Sampear told The Citizen newspaper that "I'm horrified to see an edited version of the video because I actually went to my car to go fetch my phone and license to share with the driver".
Aldrin Sampear said "At no point did I assault the driver. We have exchanged details. I have reported the matter to the police, and my legal team will deal with this factually and honestly."
Five years ago Aldrin Sampear admitted that he had assaulted women before when he was provoked.
In a statement that Newzroom Afrika only released on social media platforms, the TV news channel said "Newzroom Afrika is aware of an incident involving anchor Aldrin Sampear last week".
"Aldrin Sampear will take a break from his broadcast duties with immediate effect, pending an internal review of the matter. Newzroom Afrika takes the allegations very seriously and we will work swiftly to address the concerns raised."
Newzroom Afrika, through its PR agency Rapid Innovation Group, was asked on Friday why its statement about removing Aldrin Sampear and investigating the incident, was only shared on social media and why the press statement wasn't sent to media.
The response will be added here when received from Rapid Innovation Group.
