Look At This South African Ignoramus

During that interview with Tuju (video initially posted in @obienga’s thread).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id=OFkHNdmm_os;t=415

At the 6.55 mark, this SA, umm, journalist asks Tuju a question that leaves me scratching my head. He asks “even if you look at one of your closest neighbours, Her Excellency Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf…”, thereby implying Liberia is one of Kenya’s closest neighbours.
Tuju was looking at him like “child, have you ever glanced at a map of Africa?”, but maybe decided not to expose his ignorance, due to the weightier matters under discussion.
I’m just wondering, did they change the meaning of the word “closest” while us Kenyans were obsessed with elections?
Liberia is in West Africa, Kenya is in East Africa.
Liberia borders the Atlantic Ocean, Kenya borders the Indian Ocean.
Friends, I understand the world is a global village, but these two countries are not close by any definition of the word.

Could it be another case of South African exceptional-ism? I’ve heard, not once, that some South Africans, while planning a trip to other African countries, will look one in the eye and tell them, “I’m planning to travel to Africa.” Look, I get it. SA is significantly more developed than other African countries, but still, really dudes?

Or did this guy actually mean Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is one of Tuju’s closest neighbors somewhere? If true, this would be the most logical explanation.
I had to study a few maps of Africa after watching that clip. I read in a post recently about how mzungu misrepresented Africa’s true size, so nowadays, you can’t just dismiss things. This is the (probably fake, in light of recent pronouncements by a certain journalist) map of Africa that I was used to:
[ATTACH=full]135479[/ATTACH]

Will the real Liberia please stand up?

[ATTACH=full]135480[/ATTACH]
Was it just an honest mistake?
I’m trying really hard to give this guy the benefit of the doubt, because if he truly believes Liberia is one of Kenya’s closest neighbors…if a journalist working for one of Africa’s largest news networks believes that…then I am a little scared.
I mean, if a South African person can be that ignorant about his own continent, what do you expect from those western journalists who report “live from the ground” on African affairs from the balconies of their five star hotel rooms?
Mimi nimeshangaa.

It is a problem with the Facebook generation around the world. Reading/looking up stuff that they need to know as a routine matter is too much work; and a very sad situation when you consider the in for is in one’s hands.
He also kept on talking about 4 constituencies when he meant counties which showed he had not read up on Kenya’s governance system and/or recent history.

In such cases, the audience looks at the bigger picture. You know what the host is trying to ask. Everything else is minuscule detail. Often presenters know just enough about the subject matter. Often through a crash-course an hour before the show. Don’t fault him.

Lakini this is just too much.

But he is a foreigner. If I took you to SAfrica and landed you the night before to interview Jacob Zuma, I doubt you will be better if you haven’t lived there.

those of us in the information management business know not to get facts wrong for one word in the wrong place can cost your credibility. information is like a pilau dish…you get the salt or one of the spices wrong and the whole dish is not enjoyable anymore. just look at what we are focusing on from that interview…

No excuses here, this guy shouldn’t be doing that job, he is obviously not good enough. And I bet any other foreign reporter interviewing Zuma would know the difference between a province (S.A. has a provincial system I think) and a constituency.

What’s the big deal? He is of the mobile phone and tablet generation, educated by Wikipedia, Urban Dictionary and MTV.

I was much more interested in the substantive content and was very impressed by Tuju’s skillfulness in covering points that the interviewer had no clue about but were critical for the Kenyan audience. :D:D:D

I was watching Disney Junior with my daughter the other day, there’s this advert about space, childly, that occurs after every toon has ended and they say that there are 8 planets in the universe. To affirm them, they name them from Mars to Neptune. I was left wondering what happened to the ninth planet, Pluto?

It’s no longer classified as a planet wakanesa.

https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-is-pluto-no-longer-a-planet
https://www.universetoday.com/13573/why-pluto-is-no-longer-a-planet/

I learned that the universe has 9 planets and the sun as the center of the solar system. Stop changing what I learned.

It’s like saying “colour” and “Color” are the same. Stop being an ignorant American.

Ng’ombe ni ng’ombe tu. :D:D:D:D:D

:mad::mad::mad::mad:

We never stop learning

singo mother patiana hekaya achana na planets.

I would actually understand if he got some details wrong about Kenya. It’s not possible to get everything right unless you specialize in covering that country and have taken your time to study said country, but this guy referred to Liberia as one of Kenya’s closest neighbors. That is not a small mistake. It’s a major blunder from a journalist who should be conversant with the African continent.

I totally agree with @kyuktothecore . An AFRICAN journalist who thinks Liberia is one of Kenya’s closest neibas needs his head checked…

Kwerra kabisa, it’s an honest mistake get over it. Ok now that we’re Africans we’re supposed to know every country right? Are we also supposed to know of all the capital cities of African countries? Are we supposed to know of all the major cities of countries in Africa? What is the threshold ndio ukipitisha apo unaitwa mjinga? If you’re asked right now of the all the countries that share a border with Liberia would you answer without looking at Google? Nope. You need your head checked too

If you’re a journalist, especially an AFRICAN JOURNALIST, all of that information should be at your fingertips.
Plus are you suggesting he made that mistake even after looking at Google? I hope you’re trolling my fren.

What’s the threshold though?