SABC ordered to apologise to the EFF political party by the Broadcasting Complaints Commission after Eben Jansen's live on-air rant.

The Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) has ordered the SABC to apologise to the EFF political party on-air before tomorrow afternoon following the shocking live, on-air outburts by the now-removed SABC News (DStv 404) anchor and "Grand Inquisitor" Eben Jansen.

The SABC already apologised in writing earlier this month and already made an earlier on-air apology for the interview incident the SABC called "completely uncalled for and unprofessional" and which happened on The Newsroom on 9 April on the SABC's 24-hour TV news channel.

The Newsroom anchor Eben Jansen became confrontational with the EFF spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi who was invited to the show as a guest and was then rudely dismissed after the interview quickly devolved into a FOX News style shouting match.

Viewers described the interview as "petty, childish and unprofessional", wondering why Eben Jansen is using words like "Red Indians" and his attitude described as "embarrassing and unprofessional".

Eben Jansen was taken off the SABC airwaves indefinitely following the verbal on-air outburst which went viral.

Viewer Jarred Cinman laid a complaint directly with the BCCSA, writing that Eben Jansen's on-air behaviour was "biased, unprofessional, rude and embarrassing" and that the on-air fighting "is not news: it is either journalistic incompetence or political bias".

In a hearing BCCSA commissioner Dr. Lynda Gilfillan found that Mbuyiseni Ndlozi was "interrupted and ridiculed" and also denied the opportunity to answer questions.

Dr. Lynda Gilfillan said Eben Jansen's "generally scornful demeanour and bullying behaviour could be described as grossly unprofessional. And the severity of his unprofessionalism puts it in breach of the BCCSA code".

Dr. Lynda Gilfillan said Eben Jansen came across as "apparently relishing his role of Grand Inquisitor" with the interview which was turned into "an inquisition rather than an inquiry".

The BCCSA ruled that the SABC and SABC News "cannot simply be let off with a slap on the wrist".

The BCCSA ruled that the SABC and SABC News must broadcast an apology at the beginning of The Newsroom on the DStv news channel before Thursday.

SABC apologises for rude SABC News anchor Eben Jansen's 'completely uncalled for and unprofessional' behaviour.

The SABC this afternoon apologised to the EFF political party's spokesperson Mbuyeseni Ndlozi for the "completely uncalled for and unprofessional" behaviour of The Newsroom anchor Eben Jansen on SABC News (DStv 404) last week during a shocking live interview which saw the anchor yanked off the air indefinitely.

"The behaviour of the host, Eben Jansen, was completely uncalled for and unprofessional," the SABC said in a statement.

"The SABC has instituted disciplinary and corrective measures to ensure that Eben Jansen understands the severity of his transgression."

Eben Jansen will remain off the air and will not appear on the SABC or SABC News "until news management deems it appropriate for his return," said the SABC.

"The presenter, Eben Jansen, and his behaviour is not something that we condone as the organisation. That is why we are apologising unreservedly to him and to his organisation, the EFF," says Kaizer Kganyago, SABC spokesperson.

"The SABC will not tolerate the kind of behaviour that was meted out to Mbuyeseni Ndlozi," says the SABC's group head executive for news Jimi Matthews in the statement.

"While it is appreciated that Eben Jansen has apologised for his poor professional conduct, corrective measures have been taken to ensure that such an incident never occurs again in the future."

Here is the on-air apology SABC News (DStv 404) made on Wednesday evening:

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BREAKING. SABC News anchor Eben Jansen taken off the SABC airwaves indefinitely after losing his cool during an aggressive live interview.

The SABC has immediately removed its news anchor Eben Jansen from its SABC News (DStv 404) 24-hour TV news channel following an eye-poppingly aggressive live TV interview which went shockingly wrong on Thursday when Eben Jansen railroaded an invited guest and then abruptly cut him off.

The SABC has taken Eben Jansen off the SABC's airwaves indefinitely, pending an investigation into the news anchor's aggressive interviewing behaviour on live television.

It follows a shocking verbal altercation on live television on Thursday on the SABC's 24-hour TV news channel when Eben Jansen interviewed EFF national spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi during his programme The Newsroom.

Eben Jansen lost his cool within minutes and and started sparring with Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, shortly after introducing him and remarking at the beginning of the interview that Mbuyiseni Ndlozi finally made the interview after getting the times wrong.

The contentious interview quickly devolved and turned into a disgraceful shouting match similar to the FOX News Channel (StarSat 261) with Mbuyuseni Mdlozi who was invited for the interview, asking Eben Jansen repeatedly whether he was going to be given a chance to speak.

"Are you going to allow me to speak? Are you going to allow me to speak?" asked Mbuyiseni Ndlozi.

"I'm not going to allow you to speak anymore Mister Ndlozi because we can't have a conversation," said Eben Jansen, cutting the invited guest off in what started out as an interview about the current hot button topic of the removal and vandalism of colonial and apartheid era national statues in South Africa.

SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago didn't immediately respond to a media enquiry seeking comment on Friday evening regarding Eben Jansen's indefinite on-air removal pending the investigation.

The Mail & Guardian on Friday asked whether SABC News' Eben Jansen is becoming FOX News' Bill O'Reilly.

Meanwhile viewers described the interview as "petty, childish and unprofessional" and wondered why Eben Jansen was using words like "Red Indians", saying his attitude in the interview was "embarrassing and unprofessional".

Eben Jansen was fired by e.tv and taken off the air in 2002 where he was sports editor and sports anchor over on-air comments. Eben Jansen rejoined the SABC three years later in March 2005 as an Afrikaans news reader on SABC2 where viewers complained about his Afrikaans TV news reading abilities.

SABC interview of Eben Jansen on SABC News with EFF's Mbuyiseni Ndlozi raises eyebrows after invited guest is rudely cut off.

An SABC TV news interview on SABC News (DStv 404) is raising eyebrows after The Newsroom anchor Eben Jansen became confrontational with the EFF spokesperson who was invited to the show as a guest and was then rudely dismissed.

The interview over the removal and vandalism of national statues in South Africa became confrontational when anchor Eben Jansen and EFF national spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi started sparring on live television on Thursday on the SABC's 24-hour TV news channel.

Both anchor Eben Jansen doing the interview and Mbuyiseni Ndlozi raised their voices and started talking over each other.

"Are you going to allow me to speak? Are you going to allow me to speak?" asked Mbuyiseni Ndlozi.

"I'm not going to allow you to speak anymore Mister Ndlozi because we can't have a conversation," said Eben Jansen, cutting the invited guest off.

The interview on SABC News starts at 19:15 to 26:46.

Viewers described the interview as "petty, childish and unprofessional", wondering why Eben Jansen is using words like "Red Indians" and his attitude described as "embarrassing and unprofessional".

"The disrespect from the anchor towards Mbuyiseni Ndlozi is appalling," said a viewer. "You wanted him to agree to your statements, why?" said viewer Coffart Mogale.

"Whats the use of interviewing a person where you have already written questions and answers for that person? Please change your attitude when presenting. You push your own vendetta or SABC's and don't allow viewers to decide for themselves on contents of the interview."

SABC's SABC News such a mess that two of president Jacob Zuma's wives are invited to The Newsroom, who then start fighting with each other.

The SABC's guest booking at SABC News (DStv 404) is such a mess and the internal communication so bad that two of president Jacob Zuma's wives were invited as guests to Eben Jansen's The Newsroom - with both who showed up and then started fighting with each other in front of SABC staff, and then both left leaving SABC News and the show with none to interview.

The Mail& Guardian reports that Bongi Ngema and Tobeka Madiba both showed up for the very same interview, on the very same programme on SABC News' The Newsroom, about the very same topics - without ever having been told about each other by the SABC, after both were invited.

The women starting fighting with each other and screaming in Auckland Park in full view of staff and then accused the SABC of setting them up.

They both left after the highly embarrassing booking blunder of the SABC's 24-hour TV news channel. The Newsroom wanted one of the wives to talk given that it was Women's Day.

The SABC's head of TV news, Jimi Matthews, apparently had to intervene but both women left since neither wanted to appear on the SABC and the SABC News channel after the incident.

Since president Jacob Zuma and Hlaudi Motsoeneng, the SABC's controversial and famously matricless chief operating officer (COO) has close ties, one of president Jacob Zuma's wives even threatened to call Hlaudi Motsoeneng directly to complain.

"It was ugly and embarrassing," a source told the Mail & Guardian.