BREAKING. Amrit Manga, the SABC's former head of TV news and the current economics editor, dies.

The SABC's former head of TV news and currently the public broadcaster's economics editor Amrit Manga (56) died yesterday morning due to complications from double pneumonia.

The SABC's radio station SAfm is reporting that Amrit Manga was also suffering from colon cancer and that he died on Thursday morning in the Donald Gordon Medical Centre in Parktown after battling double pneumonia this week.

Amrit Manga worked for the SABC for 7 and a half years which included stints as national TV editor and as the head of TV news. He was removed as the head of TV news at the SABC at the beginning of 2011 when he was made economics editor.

BREAKING. SABC axes Amrit Manga as head of its TV news; demoted to economics editor and replaced by Themba Mthembu.

The SABC's controversial head of TV news Amrit Manga who was not well-liked internally by news staff at the SABC's news division has been axed just short of 4 years in the position.

Amrit Manga, responsible for the suspension of SABC3 news reader Mahendra Raghunath, is no longer the head of TV news at the South African public broadcaster. Amrit Manga who used to be the national news editor in the SABC's news department before he was made acting head of TV news and then fully appointed to this position has been demoted to now being economics editor.

The SABC's flagship news bulletin on SABC3 at 19:00 has been taking a nosedive in the viewership ratings the past 2 years. Sources inside the SABC newsroom tell me Amrit Manga accepted the lower position since his contract as head of TV news was coming to an end and all indications were that it was not going to be renewed.

Amrit Manga has been replaced by the long-serving Themba Mthembu as the new acting head of TV news. Themba Mthembu has been the head of current affairs programming at the SABC. The SABC has not yet responded on my media enquiries regarding Amrit Manga.

BREAKING. Communication Workers Union (CWU) demands ''immediate re-instatement'' of SABC3 news anchor Mahendra Raghunath.

After I told you RIGHT HERE yesterday that SABC3 is ''seriously concerned''  about the TV channel's News @ 7 bulletin without Mahendra Raghunath, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) has now come out demanding ''the immediate re-instatement'' of Mahendra Raghunath ''after he was suspended for speaking the truth''.

Mahendra Raghunath was taken off the air by SABC's head of TV news, Amrit Manga, after he allegedly spoke to the media about the intolerable conditions inside the SABC's TV news division. I can tell you that whether Mahendra Raghunath spoke to a media institution or not, the SABC TV news division has a much bigger problem. A massive amount of people in that division have spoken to me numerous times about alleged abuses, victimisation and bad management within the division over a long period of time - and continue to. Furthermore, as a news division, Amrit Manga and the SABC should very know that media institutions make use and talk to a myriad of sources for many stories on a daily basis.

The CWU says ''the suspension of Mahendra Raghunath is a continuation of the Snukification of the SABC news division by both the acting head of news Phil Molefe and the SABC's head of TV news,  Amrit Manga. This is a clear demonstration that the two SABC news bosses are intolerant of dissent and abuse their positions of authority to silence and victimize workers. The failure by the SABC to heed our call for the immediate re-instatement of Mahendra Raghunath will reinforce our suspicion that the SABC News once more, is being bullied to pursue certain sectarian agenda similar to the ones pursued during the era of Snuki Zikalala.''