Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema says Newzroom Afrika anchor Stephen Grootes “needs to be taught a lesson”.
This comes after Grootes, earlier on Tuesday, “mistakenly said Malema and EFF MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi “killed” Lieutenant-Colonel Johannes Venter. Malema and Ndlozi were in court over assault charges stemming from an incident during Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s funeral.
I accept no apology from a racist boy; he needs to be taught a lesson. They should be a consequence in every racist act.
— Julius Sello Malema (@Julius_S_Malema) March 9, 2021
In April 2018, they were accused of pushing Venter – a member of the Presidential Protection Services – after he refused their vehicle entry to the Fourways Memorial Park where Madikizela-Mandela was being buried.
Grootes immediately apologised for saying “killing” instead of “assault”, with Newzroom Afrika later also apologising to Malema and Ndlozi.
Earlier today, Stephen Grootes mistakenly referred to the current case involving EFF leader Julius Malema & Mbuyiseni Ndlozi as that of “killing” as opposed to assault. Stephen apologised immediately thereafter. We regret the error & extend our apology to Mr Malema & Mr Ndlozi. pic.twitter.com/j5xLRiUh1H
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) March 9, 2021
However, Newzroom’s apology came after the EFF had already released a statement calling for Grootes’s dismissal.
“The EFF calls for the immediate removal of compromised, racist and incompetent NewzRoom Afrika anchor Stephen Grootes, for making a blatantly false and defamatory remark, whilst covering the common assault case involving the CIC Julius Malema and Commissar Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi.
“In a pathetic display of his bias and dislike of the EFF and it’s leadership, the idiotic Grootes claimed that the Commander-in-Chief and Commissar Ndlozi were in court for killing police colonel Johannes Venter,” the statement read.
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