One of the country’s most respected journalists, Tshamano Makhadi, was elected as the deputy chairperson of the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) during the forum’s annual general meeting (AGM) held in Johannesburg last Saturday.

Makhadi, who hails from Itsani in the Vhembe District, has been in the media industry for the past 27 years. Apart from being a leading figure at Sanef for close to 10 years, Makhadi has worked for public and private media companies such as the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and eTV. He has also been working as a lecturer and manager at the Department of Journalism and Integrated Communications at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) for the past 17 years.

In an interview with Limpopo Mirror on Sunday, the soft-spoken media guru said that he had actually been born at Ha-Ramantsha, in the Sinthumule area. His family moved to Itsani village outside Thohoyandou when he was still young.

Makhadi is one of the few journalists in the country who had the opportunity to interview two of the most notable freedom icons, Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu, in his television work. He has manned the SABC Radio Channel Africa’s political desk alongside some of the country’s great talents, covering continental issues. He later joined eTV in Johannesburg before he was deployed to Cape Town and later to KwaZulu-Natal.

Makhadi joined Sanef as a board member in 2015. He was then elected as Sanef’s chairperson for the Education and Training Committee on three successive occasions before his election as the organisation’s treasurer general and now as deputy chairperson. Each term was for two years, and he helped to steer Sanef’s finances to a good position.

The Limpopo-born journalist believes that media freedom is people’s freedom and Sanef has a duty to defend it. Makhadi is also a board member of the Press Council of South Africa and a member of the Network of Independent Media Councils in Africa.

When asked how he managed to help keep Sanef’s finances in such good shape, considering that he comes from a journalistic background, he said that for a number of years he had developed an interest in finances. He also gave credit to his wife, Phathu Makhadi, who is a chartered accountant and managing director of an international accounting firm, for always sharing good advice and support.

Of all his positions, he said he loved his role as daddy the most. He has three children: Mpho, Thendo, and Tsiko. He believes he must not only be a father to them but also a friend and mentor.