Condolences for SABC journalist Matome Maupi

The SACP has sent condolences to family and colleagues of SABC journalist Matome Maupi, who died aged 52, on Thursday.

The veteran broadcaster had spent two months in hospital, according to reports. 

“With Maupi and his colleagues on the popular SABC Thobela FM current affairs show Hlokwa la Tsela, as well as on other Thobela FM current affairs shows, we simplified complex political, economic and scientific concepts and categories, and delivered them in the language of the people”, said SACP spokesperson Dr Alex Mohubetswane Mashilo.

The party's acting spokesperson, Mhlekwa Nxumalo, added: “Maupi’s interview questions on Hlokwa la Tsela were decisive. They were more than ordinary information and clarity-seeking questions. They held interviewees accountable. Their answers had to be backed with data from research, ensuring quality and accuracy in the broadcast language.”

Maupi began his career at Mohodi FM before joining the SABC in the early 2000s, where he was loved for his robust interaction with government officials when tackling service delivery issues affecting communities in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and Gauteng, according to Jacaranda FM.

The station quoted Maupi's former colleague, Thipa Selala, as saying: “When I joined the SABC in 2007 he was tasked with training me and he did an exceptional job. 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 unmatched passion for radio. May God rest his soul.”