South African musician Kelly Khumalo has registered her disgust at South African news channel, eNCA, after it mistakenly reported that she had passed away on Tuesday evening.
Khumalo came out guns blazing on social media after the gaffe, which saw her reported as the musician who had passed away instead of fellow singer Winnie Khumalo.
Winnie died at the age 51 after a short illness.
The error sparked outrage, particularly from Khumalo herself, who took to Instagram to express her disgust and disappointment.
“@encanews you may hate me or even think less of me. However, this is very reckless, ignorant and disrespectful — not only to me but to those who love and care about me, especially my kids. Put some respect on my name,” she wrote.
eNCA news anchor Shahan Ramkissoon, later apologised for his mistake on X.
“I made an honest mistake, which I corrected shortly afterwards on air. It was a slip of the tongue as I ad-libbed the story. I take full responsibility for the error. To those seeking to amplify this for attention: do what you must trend and stay blessed,” he wrote.
The singer’s response was met with an outpouring of support from fans and fellow celebrities, who condemned eNCA’s mistake as irresponsible and insensitive.
However, some took the opportunity to run salt into the wound, questioning why Khumalo was aggrieved when she is suspected to be behind the death of South African footballer, Senzo Meyiwa.
Meyiwa was fatally shot in the chest when two intruders allegedly entered the family home of his girlfriend, Khumalo, in Vosloorus in October 2014 while he was relaxing with her and other friends.
So they dieded her already. Hayike!
Verify and confirm first. Misplaced journalism ethics. An apology alone would not be enough. Long live Kelly.
Wat kind of mistake z that?
They wanted to say Winnie Khumalo
Maybe they had sent an assassin that took out the wrong subject and reported assignment complete.