Newzroom Afrika has expressed disappointment over what they deem as ‘false and unsubstantiated claims’ made against the channel and its CEO in a recent article by the “City Press” titled "Newzroom Afrika managing editor fired after 'heated argument' with channel co-founder Ngwato."
The crux of the issue lies in the assertion by Nompumelelo Magagula, the author of the article, that co-founder Thabile Ngwato was involved in a heated dispute with former managing editor Zain Semaar, leading to his dismissal.
However, Newzroom Afrika refuted these claims, asserting that Ngwato was not present on the day Semaar was informed about the non-renewal of his contract, nor was she involved in any such altercation.
The channel explained that the CEO does not engage in contractual discussions with employees and Semaar did not have the kind of access to her as suggested by the article.
Instead, Semaar's contract was simply not renewed as his services were no longer required. Additionally, the article incorrectly stated that Duduzile Ramela had left the channel, whereas she remains an anchor at Newzroom Afrika.
The news station condemned the City Press article, attributing it to a personal vendetta possibly fuelled by an unidentified anonymous source. Newzroom Afrika said that their initial decision not to respond to the allegations was based on their policy of not commenting on issues related to individual employee relationships.
However, they said that this did not give City Press ‘licence to propagate false information’.
Moving forward, Newzroom Afrika said it intends to address this matter legally, signalling their determination to uphold their reputation and set the record straight.