eNCA journalists shaken but not deterred as they tell of Tshwane attack

“The world of journalism has become a lot more dangerous than what it was a decade ago when I first entered the industry.”

Editor's note: The quotes in this story were unedited and republished here as they appeared in Facebook posts.

That’s how eNCA’s Jody Jacobs sums up his feelings after he and Noluthando Hlophe were robbed at gunpoint while after a live crossing from the unrest in Tshwane on Wednesday.

“…One minute I was just getting over the anxiety of being on live TV‚” Jacobs says on a Facebook post about the attack in Mamelodi.

“The next minute‚ two guys approached us‚ calm and collected.”

Hlophe picks up the story and posts: “They tried to grab Jody's cellular but Jody was on some ‘Hey bro now you're pushing it! NOT the phone I gotta tweet this! What's wrong witchu?’ ”

Says Jacobs: “They then threaten us with a firearm and we realise it’s serious.”

Hlophe adds: “Soooon as he said ‘Letha la le sbhamu’ (‘bring this gun’)‚ I was like ‘hey bro this camera has never even belonged to enca‚ It is yours We brought it for u’.”

Then‚ Jacobs says‚ “they take the camera‚ and tell us to run to the police…Into their getaway car‚ they jump and drive off. Noluthando Hlophe and I were so shocked that it took us a few minutes to realise what happened.”

Jacobs also posted that they “reported the incident to the police (which was a drama in itself)”.

“We are fine and are home now.

“We are now thinking through the incident and how our lives flashed before our eyes.”

Jacobs says that‚ rather than being put off by the incident‚ “I have not lost my enthusiasm for my craft.

“The challenges have changed‚ our lives are not that safe anymore. Society's perception of the media too has changed‚ making it a lot more difficult to do our job. Aluta Continua Journalism.”

Hlophe shows a similar resilience‚ and‚ in an earlier Facebook post‚ makes light of the incident: “Jody Jacobs decides to come out of the air conditioning and go on the field without cleansing and consulting the ancestors and we get robbed of our equipment on the side of the road after our top of the hour 19:00 live crossing... Ku-rough in the Capital fam.”

The attack on Hlophe and Jacobs came on the third day of violence in the capital‚ which was originally sparked by protests over the African National Congress’ choice of Thoko Didiza as its mayoral candidate for Tshwane.