SABC's Sophie Mokoena signs off after 31 years!

SOPHIE Mokoena is leaving the SABC.

After serving SABC News for 31 years, Sophie, who is the international news editor, is leaving.

The announcement was made on Thursday, 17 July, while SABC celebrated 75 years of SABC News.

She joined the Morning LIVE show on SABC2.

Her career began on Lesedi FM. She then became a parliamentary reporter before moving into politics.

She said covering former presidents Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki changed the trajectory of her career.

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"The other important story was covering Covid, then the fall of Mugabe (Robert) and the exclusive interview I got with him. The other one was Gaddafi in Durban, where he was problematic ahead of the launch of the AU.

"Madiba also during the World Cup in Zurich, that moment after we won the World Cup. I don't know where to start, first female president in Namibia, and Trump when he came into power in 2016. In fact, I predicted ahead of those elections that Trump would beat Hilary and people laughed at me. Even now, I predicted he would come back," she said.

Megan Lubke, the executive producer of Morning Live, wished her well.

"Eighty-nine years of SABC, but 75 years of SABC News. We all are learning every day. If everyone in South Africa had the same work ethic that you do, we would produce the best results, and we still are. We're still the SABC, you've taken people down memory lane. It's an absolute pleasure to be part of the Morning Live team," she said.

When the show ended, she was honoured with a portrait of her, and she thanked her supporters.

"Thank you to the entire team. Thank you to South Africa and the African continent, my home and thanks to the world."