Mzansi top comedian and Daily Show host Trevor Noah is living in fear after receiving numerous death threats after his interview with Bill Gates drew major criticism from Africans. The talk show host interviewed American billionaire Bill Gates about the initiatives his foundation has funded in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

The death threats however started trickling in after News24 reported on Saturday that Gates proposed to test a “vaccine” in Africa, which turned out not to be true.

“On Saturday, we published a story about philanthropist Bill Gates’ support for SA with Covid-19. We wrongly reported that Gates wants to test a ‘vaccine in Africa,” said News24 on their Twitter account.

“This is false. The Gates Foundation will support SA with testing kits and research. We apologise for the mistake,” they added

The tweet prompted the New York-based comedian to comment, saying: “Now I see why I’ve been getting death threats for interviewing Bill”.

Responding to one of his critics, Noah said:

“Where in this entire interview do you hear either of us saying a vaccine will be tested in Africa? Are you confusing us with those French doctors or are you just trying to get retweets?”

It was evident that Noah may not have been aware of the News24 report.

News24 unreservedly apologises to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and our readers for any harm caused by the publication of this false headline.

We have unpublished and removed the article, wrote News24 on their website.

News24 editor-in-chief Adriaan Basson said he will request an investigation by the publication’s public editor, Professor George Claassen, to establish where system lapses took place and how to fix them.

EFF MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi added to the furore and commented on Gates’ education qualifications, saying nothing qualified him to lead debates on vaccines and medical responses.

-News24