Johannesburg – South African veteran actress Nandi Nyembe, best known for her roles in Zone 14, Yizo Yizo and Adulting, has died at the age of 75.
Her death comes while questions still hang over funds raised in her honour earlier this year but never released to her.
Tributes have been pouring in from across the arts industry. Ismail Mahomed, Director at the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, remembered her early theatre years. “I remember her joyous and infectious spirit from the early eighties when she worked in the front of house at the Market Theatre. When the Windybrow Theatre opened in the late eighties she played in its inaugural production, Oluvani Jive. May her soul find peace,” he said.
Nyembe had gone public in April about her financial struggles after spending R88 000 on her son’s medical care. A video in which she broke down asking for assistance went viral, sparking concern across Southern Africa, including Eswatini, where many families recognised the plight of artists who give a lifetime to their craft but retire with little financial security.
Good Samaritans organised a fundraising event on April 28 at Disoufeng in Soweto, promising to ease her struggles. Two months later, Nyembe confirmed she had still not received the money. “It is disheartening that the money raised to help me has not reached me yet. It is winter and I am in need of a heater and the basics to get me going. I had no idea that the Gauteng Film Commission is the one who needs to give the go-ahead with regards to me getting the money,” she told Sunday World.
Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie personally donated R20 000 and vowed to visit her in Soweto, a promise that was never fulfilled. “I was hopeful when he said he would come, but nothing has happened,” she said.
The Gauteng Film Commission was tasked with overseeing the funds but has not provided a timeline for their release. The silence has fuelled frustration among Nyembe’s supporters who believe the money should have reached her while she was alive.
In her final interviews, Nyembe reflected on the harsh realities of the entertainment industry, noting she had worked for over five decades yet could not afford medical aid. “What are you going to pay it with, every month?” she asked. She revealed that she filmed her scenes for Adulting from a wheelchair but insisted her talent remained intact. “Don’t think because I’m sitting on this wheelchair that it’s done with me. Give me a script and I’ll show you that this brain is so alive,” she said.
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