The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) received with sorrow the sad news about the sudden death of a young, aspirant media personality and an Associate Politics Editor for the Eyewitness News (EWN), Tshidi Madia, who passed away on Wednesday, 27 August 2025 allegedly after a short illness.
Tshidi will be remembered for, among other things, the bravery she demonstrated recently during her reporting of the meeting between President Cyril Ramaphosa and US President Donald Trump that took place in May 2025 from the White House. In one of her interviews, she was quoted as saying “I was saying to one of them earlier, the least you can do is to research South Africa. You cannot expect South Africans to answer to falsehood…. I’m an observer, I have no reason to protect a government that’s lying.” on Radio 702’s Breakfast Show.
Her determination to give a South African perspective to the local media in Washington, including the news channel CNN, will be part of her legacy from which the South African loving citizens must learn on how to stand for the truth when a false narrative is portrayed about your country.
Our encounter with Tshidi during the national and provincial elections revealed a journalist who was not prepared to compromise professionalism during the execution of her duties. Even under political pressure, she pursued the truth with humility. She enjoyed robust but informative debate.
It is public knowledge that she was able to engage with politicians across the political spectrum, asking enlightening questions while maintaining a professional and respectful conduct. Her commitment to providing the public with a clear understanding of how political events impact their daily lives should be emulated by her peers.
The understanding that Tshidi was a consummate professional who led by example to the extent that she mentored and trained many young political journalists, must be a good lesson to the upcoming journalists. South Africa needs more young leaders like her, primarily because the youth is the most challenged sector of our society. It will take committed and disciplined young professionals like Tshidi to turn around the lives of the youth for the better.
Finally, she will indeed be remembered for her insightful analysis, in-depth interviews and commitment to objective reporting, and further sentiments expressed by Primedia.
Our condolences to her family, colleagues at EWN, friends and close associates at large. May her soul rest in peace.
