The editor of the Star
“I have stepped down and I am no longer the newspaper’s editor, it was an amicable departure,” Makhudu Sefara, editor of the Star, said to the South African Press Association on Monday.
Sefara would not comment on the reasons. He and the owners of Independent News & Media South Africa (INMSA), would release a joint statement later on Monday.
Business Report tweeted that Sefara stepped down, and that his deputy Kevin Ritchie was appointed acting editor.
Sefara was recently awarded the Editor of the Year prize at the annual Standard Bank Sikuvile journalism awards.
The Star, which has a daily circulation of more than 136 000, is the flagship paper of INMSA, which remains one of the top performers in the international stable of the company.
Sefara’s departure comes months after former Sunday Independent editor Moshoeshoe Monare quit his job to join the Mail & Guardian.
Former Cape Times editor Alide Dasnois was suddenly removed from her position in November last year and is now embroiled in a labour dispute with the owners of INMSA.
Labour analyst Terry Bell also had his column put on hold at the company, and group executive editor Chris Whitfield took early retirement earlier this year after being offered another position within the group. – Additional reporting by Sapa