An eNCA journalist is under fire for appearing to treat two politicians – one black, one white – differently during a post-budget interview on Wednesday.
Political reporter Lindsay Dentlinger was interviewing Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Groenewald who conducted the interview without a mask.
As the interview finished and Groenewald left the shot, UDM Deputy President Nqabayomzi Kwankwa took his place and began to remove his mask, leading Dentlinger to ask him to keep it on.
On Thursday morning #eNCA was trending on Twitter, with some accusing the reporter and broadcaster of racism and unconscious bias.
Are you White ? If yes no problem.. Are you Black ? If yes then keep your mask on ENCA does not want your "Blackish" Covid19 🙄🙄🙄🙄 Our sin is to be black in this country white arrogance has been revived by Cyril Ramaphosa and his people .. #eNCA pic.twitter.com/38OeGK3ikp
— Zama Zulu (@Zamazulue) February 25, 2021
The Economic Freedom Fighter’s Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi weighed into the controversy, claming that far from being ‘unconscious’ bias, the actions were deliberate and racist.
‘it is conscious, deliberate, decided upon & a normal way white people treat and relate to blacks [SIC] people!”
Yesterday's #eNCA incident with @UDmRevolution was not a 1st, according to the myopic @metrobabe masks are only for darkies, can BCCSA do something about this crap🤮 #eNCAMUSTFALL hard❗
cc: @tumisole pic.twitter.com/ZwUe9ZEgb5
— Ntate_Sam (@Ntt_Sam) February 25, 2021
Replying to a Tweet showing footage of the incident under the heading: How media treat Europeans vs how they treat Africans – UDM leader Bantu Holomisa called for eNCA to apologise.
The era of separate development of Verwoerd is gone, he wrote, ‘they can’t have separate policies in enforcing Covid-19 regulations.’
Addressing the topic on ‘Barbs Wire’ on The Kieno Kammies Show, digital editor Barbara Freidman says it appears it’s not the first time the reporter has taken a black politician to task over not wearing mask.
They also have pulled out an interview they did outside of court with Bongani Bongo…where she not only tells him to put his mask on but she then even says please move it up over your nose.
And there’s videos of her interviewing other people in the Parliamentary precinct, John Steenhuisen at SONA, where she interviews him without a mask – Barbara Freidman