Africa-Press – South-Africa. The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) is mourning three journalists who died just days apart.
They are SABC News Free State editor Teboho Letshaba, veteran SABC News Sepedi radio current affairs producer and presenter Matome Maupi in Limpopo, and former EWN reporter in Cape Town Graig-Lee Smith.
Letshaba, 40, died in his sleep at his apartment in Bloemfontein on Tuesday, 4 April and was buried over the weekend.
SABC News head of input Angie Kapelianis described Letshaba as versatile, brilliant and dedicated to education and his work.
The multi-award-winning journalist joined the SABC’s Bloemfontein newsroom in 2008 and held various positions. He authored at least five Sesotho books, of which one was turned into a theatre production.
Kapelianis said:
Mandla Mbusi, Free State operations manager at the public broadcaster, said: “We are trying to cope with the grief and loss of Letshaba. He would bring you current affairs stories, real stories affecting people’s lives. We have lost a giant in the media industry and as a broadcaster.”
Maupi, 52, died on Thursday, 13 April, after losing a battle against lung cancer. He’d been sick and on leave since January.
Maupi started his radio current affairs career at Mohodi Community Radio and joined the SABC as the host of popular current affairs show Hlokwa La Tsela on Thobela FM in the early 2000s.
He said Maupi was loved for his robust interaction with politicians and officials when tackling service delivery issues affecting communities in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and Gauteng.
Maupi’s former colleague, Thipa Selala, described him as a great mentor, teacher and a walking Sepedi encyclopaedia.
“When I joined the SABC in 2007, he was tasked with training me. He was a diligent man. His cheerful personality will be missed. He was energetic and worked like a man possessed with extraordinary vision. He had exceptional courage and an unmatched passion for radio. May God rest his soul.”
SABC regional manager Oupa Mamabolo said:
Smith died on Sunday evening.
Former colleague Crystal Orderson described Smith as passionate and energetic since their student days at Cape Peninsula University of Technology.
“He wanted to make a difference in telling stories about communities. He went to speak to rural women and on the Cape Flats who lost children due to violence. Graig-Lee hated sitting in the office and loved going to communities and telling their stories,” she said.
Smith joined the e.tv Openview team as a producer. He was later appointed as programme manager at RSG, where he ensured the station reflected the full diversity of Afrikaans speakers.
“He had a knack to get people to tell him how they felt, and he was able to bring those stories to 702, 567 Cape Talk, KFM in the Western Cape and 94.7 in Johannesburg. As a multi-faceted journalist, he was also a stand-in news reader, helping when we needed a voice to read news bulletins,” Orderson said.
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