Phelo Bala celebrates completing substance abuse recovery programme
Phelo Bala has shared an update with his fans after completing a six-month substance abuse recovery programme.
Last November, convicted blogger Musa Khawula claimed Phelo had been admitted to a rehabilitation centre in Johannesburg after an alleged drug relapse.
On April 27 Phelo marked the end of his journey with a certificate of completion, and he's embarking on a new challenge — a 30-day body transformation journey.
In a candid Instagram post, Phelo shared a picture of himself before his transformation, saying: ' This is me — raw, real and ready to take on the next chapter of my transformation. Today marks the beginning of my 30-day body transformation challenge. It's not only about physical change but about embracing discipline, pushing limits and honouring the body God has blessed me with,' he wrote.
' For me, this journey is a reflection of my commitment to health, wellness and living with intention. It's about showing up for myself every day, knowing growth happens when we step out of our comfort zones.'
Phelo promised to share updates about his journey and encouraged his followers who are on a similar path, ' whether it's fitness, sobriety, faith or self-discovery', to keep going and take it one day at a time.
He was not available to comment at the time of publishing this article.
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The Herald
a day ago
- The Herald
Kolisi bites back at critics over team's performance
As the United Rugby Championship (URC) heads into its decisive stages, all eyes turn to Pretoria this weekend, where the Sharks will square off against the Bulls in a much-anticipated SA derby. Despite finishing third in the regular season, the Sharks have come under scrutiny for what many have described as an underwhelming campaign, a label which Springbok captain Siya Kolisi dismisses with calm defiance. The Sharks, who edged past Munster in a dramatic 100-minute thriller last weekend, are no strangers to gritty battles. Deadlocked at 24-all at full time, the clash in Durban went to a rare penalty shootout where the Sharks triumphed 4-2. It was a match which highlighted their resilience and unpredictability. 'I know this is a massive topic,' Kolisi said. 'There are many reasons why we haven't played to our full potential. 'A lot of people are looking at the results and the way we play. 'We know it's something we need to work on and when we review our games we see our shortcomings. 'Sometimes it's only the one person who is at fault at a particular time.' Kolisi insists the Sharks are building something powerful and they're not concerned with outside opinions. 'The most important thing is we are winning, and we know there will be a day where we will play well. 'We have a lot of confidence [in beating the Bulls] as our team has done this before. 'We have beaten the Bulls three times this season, but we know all of that means nothing and it will be a new fixture this weekend. 'We have a lot of confidence heading into the match.' One of the biggest talking points of the Sharks' season has been the inability of their star-studded line-up, featuring up to 12 Springboks, to consistently replicate their dominant international form at the club level. While fans and pundits continue to question this disparity, Kolisi remains unfazed. 'The game plan [for Springboks and Sharks] is not the same, so I can't answer that question. 'I personally give my all for both the Sharks and Springboks. 'They are just two different systems we as players have to deal with, but if people are doubting our effort when we play for the Sharks, they must look at our stats when we play for the Sharks and when we play for the Springboks.' Indeed, the contrast between their club form and international dominance has been stark, but Kolisi argues it is more a matter of tactical variation than lack of intensity. Last weekend's showdown was not without drama. In the shootout phase, Sharks scrumhalf Jaden Hendrickse drew attention after what appeared to be a taunt directed at Munster's Jack Crowley. Hendrickse, who cramped up immediately after his kick, was seen winking at Crowley, sparking an on-field verbal exchange caught clearly by the referee's microphone. 'There is absolutely nothing wrong with what Jaden did there,' Kolisi said. 'These things happen in rugby and other teams have done similar things before. 'Sometimes people also say things to me in a game and the onus is on the person and what they do when they are provoked. 'There are players in Jack's team [Munster] who also do the exact same thing to other players from the opposition. 'It's just that this time on the day it was heard from the referee's mic. We stand with Jaden. 'We're not going to get distracted. The focus is this weekend, nothing else.' With the Bulls seen by many as favourites to reach the URC final, the Sharks find themselves once again in the role of disrupters. But if their past three meetings this season are anything to go by, the Durban outfit have every reason to believe. They may not have lit up the season with flair, but in knockout rugby grit often trumps style. With Kolisi ready to charge and a battle-hardened squad behind him, the Sharks are ready to prove their doubters wrong, one ugly win at a time. — SportsBoom
Mail & Guardian
a day ago
- Mail & Guardian
Noxolo Dlamini returns to the stage as Sarafina
Third time lucky: Noxolo Dlamini returns to the role of Sarafina in a production of the musical, on at the Joburg Theatre until 15 June. (Photo supplied) For Noxolo Dlamini, acting isn't merely a job — it is spiritual. It's a channel that allows her to connect with people through their spirit. I can immediately sense the passion she has for the vocation when she speaks. For her, the art of acting is one that enables her to portray characters that stand up for others and seek social justice. Her portrayal of Sarafina is no exception. She has returned to theatre to reprise her role in the critically acclaimed musical by late South African playwright Mbongeni Ngema. The opening night of Sarafina took place on 30 May at the Joburg Theatre and it will run until 15 June. The award-winning actress recounts how acting was a big part of her childhood, long before she stepped onto the stage and screen. 'I've always acted,' she says. 'I started in nursery school. The earliest memory or story I've heard from my mother is that there was a show that we did. I was like five, six. We did the Down in the Jungle song and I got to play the mama. 'And I remember my mom saying that my teacher at the time went up to her after the performance and said, 'I don't know if you know this, but Nox is really good at this thing, you know. She seems to really enjoy it too.' And my mom was like, 'Oh, okay. Well that's really nice.' 'And so my mom always reminds me of that story and I think that's when she first realised. 'But, for me, I used to love playing in the mirror. I used to dance, sing and act in front of the mirror. It's just something I really liked. I just enjoyed it. I got to primary school and that's all I did.' During her time at Craighall Primary School in Johannesburg, Dlamini had a drama teacher, Mrs Martel, who would later on put in a word to convince her mom to allow her to pursue her love of acting. 'When I got to grade seven, she's the one that spoke to my mother about the National School of the Arts and she's, like, 'I think she should go there because she clearly loves it and she's good at it.' 'So then I went to the National School of the Arts. She really fought for me, you know, and my mom was very supportive. 'It was really lovely because my mom's a single mom of five and I think she appreciated the help of someone else spotting my talent and actually pushing for me to, I guess, go for what I really love.' Dlamini was cast as Sarafina in 2017 and again in 2019. After that, she took a break from theatre to focus on film and television projects. Photo supplied 'I've always done theatre. My career studying-wise was always theatre. Film and television wasn't the thing I was actually planning on doing until 2018. 'The idea started playing in my head in 2017, but in 2018, I made the decision that, in 2019, I'm not auditioning for theatre anymore.' It was during this break from theatre that she won a South African Film and Television Award in 2023 for the best actress in a feature film category for her performance in Netflix's Silverton Siege. The actress recently starred in Amazon Prime's action film G20, inspired by the G20 meeting set to take place in South Africa in November. It stars Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award-winning American actress Viola Davis as 'Potus', the president of the US, and New Zealand actor Antony Starr as Rutledge, the villain. 'When I got G20, I was like, 'Oh, my gosh, I actually get to work with her [Davis]!' Dlamini remembers. 'You know, the first time I worked with her briefly on The Woman King, doing stunts, but now I actually have a scene with her.' What makes the movie an exciting watch, for South Africans anyway, is spotting the local accents of several of the characters. Dlamini plays Lesedi, a South African government agent posing as a hotel staff member. 'Lesedi is a badass. I think what's lovely about her is that she's such a powerful representation of what a South African woman is — in an action sense, of course. 'But I think my favourite thing is how we were allowed to firstly play ourselves — South Africans — but also, that we were allowed to be a part of the heroes.' 'Lesedi, I think this is like with any soldier — she lends herself … to protect others, to help others. 'I did learn from her that there's nothing wrong with lending yourself, ' Dlamini says. Recently, before the announcement of her return as Sarafina, she spoke about the theatre itch she hadn't been able to quite shake off. 'Like, right now, I'm definitely going back to theatre. There's something in my heart that feels like it needs to happen. 'And, instead of feeling like I'm angry or like I'm tired of filming television, I realised I need to go back into theatre again. I need to fuel up. 'I need to inject myself with that love and that creativity and just give all of that again, to get back to going, 'Okay, okay, okay, fine, I'm okay.' I just needed a dose of that. 'But, yeah, I think I shouldn't leave it for too long, actually. 'I miss the adrenaline. I love the rehearsal space. I love rehearsal time. I love finding the character. 'I love getting to do the same show five times, six times in the week where you can literally have a different show every night because things happen differently. I just miss that.' Some might call it fate that the actress has been cast as Sarafina three times. After all, Dlamini's love for the character began when she watched the 1992 film adaptation of the musical starring South African actress Leleti Khumalo and American actress Whoopi Goldberg. The movie is what finally inspired her to become an actress. 'The earliest I can remember, because I'm thinking of the cassettes we used to watch, we used to have Sarafina. I loved Sarafina. I loved it because it incorporated everything I enjoy. It had the acting, the dancing, the singing and I was just like, 'Yoh!' 'You know what it feels like to me, it feels like … I don't know how to explain it. I think musical theatre people, people who do theatre, will understand the feeling of, like, after doing a huge number on stage and it's at the end. Just that feeling, that exhilarating feeling. That's how it makes me feel. 'And that makes me feel alive. And it makes me feel like I just did everything in the world, you know?' Noxolo Dlamini. (Photo supplied) Sarafina showcases a pivotal moment in South Africa's history when students led protests during the 1976 Soweto Uprising. The characters depict the violent trauma that many students experienced under the apartheid regime. It is for this reason it is crucial for actors to be able to step back from a role. 'We use ourselves. We are the vessel that the character is coming alive through. And some people use their own past experiences to reach certain things. To be a human being and to put yourself through something that isn't actually happening, you know it, but your body and your mind don't really,' Dlamini says. 'That's why they're always talking about de-roling. And it's because your body actually goes through it. The trauma of the character, your body goes through it too.' She says an actor's mind does it too: 'Oh, by the way, just so you know, this is not real, you know, because you're using your actual emotions and you're using your actual self. 'It's really important to understand how you get in and out of that. How to get to a point where you go, 'Okay, the character's done. Now we have Nox. How do we get back to Nox? What does Nox like?' 'It's really important to have that relationship with yourself so that you're able to kind of lend yourself out to your characters.' The actress says she has reached a milestone in her career — and has no plans to slow down. 'My career has been so blessed. I've just reached the 10-year point. I was starting to kind of feel like it's slowing down and I'm just like, 'Ah, do I still want to do this?' ''Of course I want to do this, but what do I want to do? There's something else. There's something else that's meant to happen.' 'I don't know what it is right now. And I love that feeling because it's brought me closer to God again. Because, initially, the reason I wanted to do it was because I believe it is what God gave me. He put that dream in my heart. I can't give up on myself because I feel like giving up on myself is giving up on God.' Dlamini's focus at the moment is on returning to the stage and making her mark once again. 'I think, more than anything, I love what I do because I get to express myself. It's that one feeling of being on stage and going, 'Huh!' And, 'I gave everything that I could.' 'And also, the energy! There's so much energy in what you get from the audience, what you give to the audience. And it's just … it's beautiful to be in the space where we're all telling a story. 'The energies are so different because every show feels so different. 'I get to go home and sleep. And then the next morning, I get to wake up and do it again.'
Mail & Guardian
2 days ago
- Mail & Guardian
Visionary with a camera: Rashid Lombard's lasting legacy
Caption: Rashid Lombard at the Cape Town Press Centre in Shortmarket Street, 1989, photo from the Shadley Lombard archive. Rashid Lombard was a legend among legends. A comrade, a stalwart, a hip jazz cat — he lived large, energetically, wildly seizing life by the horns, as if there was an urgency to do so. Lombard was a photojournalist working for the foreign press, capturing the darkest days of apartheid South Africa, but also a major contributor to culture whose name was synonymous with jazz in South Africa. He died on 4 June, at the age of 74. Tributes from all over the world poured from different aspects of his life — as a mentor, activist, photographer and organiser. All attest to his brilliant storytelling, because his life was so interesting and often unbelievable. His most striking characteristics were his charm, humour and how he was always working and able to accomplish a lot in a short time, making it impossible to capture all he did. He said about his youth, 'I liked money and I liked shoes. At high school, during holiday time, I'd be working in the shops in Athlone. I always had a job. I'd always find something to do.' Lombard was born in Port Elizabeth in 1951 and his family moved to Cape Town when he was 11 years old in 1962. His love for photography grew through art classes while attending Wittebome High in Wynberg and through an uncle interested in the art form. Apartheid prevented him from studying photography, but because he loved drawing, he got into architectural drafting. He landed a job at the construction giant Murray & Roberts, as an industrial photographer of architecture, shooting buildings around Cape Town. He soon got hooked on photography and started photographing political rallies. When we met for an interview at his home in Athlone, Cape Town in 2022, Lombard was joined by his daughter Yana, and the pair spoke as one unit, finishing each other's sentences. They were thick as thieves and partners in crime. To date, I have not witnessed a father-daughter duo so close and the interview was done jointly. Yana knew the context of each image spoken about and Lombard had had an incredible memory for detail, with the ability to rattle off names and dates that is rare. They spoke about his life highlights — his extensive photographic archive, iconic gigs, Nelson Mandela's release, the country's first elections, photographing rallies in the height of apartheid, meeting musicians from all over the world. Their stories were endless. Caption: Rashid Lombard greets his wife, Colleen Lombard on her release from section 29 at the Cape Town Courts after her successful bail hearing. Photo by Benny Gool. Upon entering his home, iconic, historic images lined the walls, alongside books and records. Excitedly, Lombard guided me to a backroom filled with archives, posters and history, and then another room, showing me a reel of negatives. 'The thing about learning from a photographer's perspective, is you get to see how they think,' he said. His negatives showed what his days would be like back in the height of apartheid repression. During the day, it was shooting at rallies and, at nights, in the smoky jazz clubs. 'That's why, in my contact sheets, you can see a funeral, then a party, then a gig. All the time I was photographing. I was at every gig,' Lombard said. 'The music was also linked to the political struggle. They were all involved. Not one musician ever said, 'No I can't play at this.' So you'd be at a funeral that afternoon and at night it would be a goomba [party]. We would be at a rally during the day, and then the jazz club at night.' And it is this statement that encapsulates how South Africa's struggle for freedom is intertwined with a legacy of jazz and politically charged figures. As a photojournalist during the Eighties, he founded the Cape Town Press Centre in the city centre with renowned photojournalist John Rubython, and documented for BBC, NBC, AFP and local publications like Grassroots and South. It was a facility where foreign media could come and work and they'd organised runners to guarantee safe passage into the townships. 'Everything was undercover. We ran that facility until Mandela was released in 1991.' The centre was across an important jazz and hip-hop venue and club called Jazz Den/The Base where activists would hang out. His peers were from the golden age of photojournalists, some have passed on: Peter Magubane, George Hallett, Omar Badsha, Rafs Mayet, Oscar Gutierrez and Gregory Franz. Lombard was married to the anti-apartheid activist Colleen Rayson, and though she has been ill for many years, she would often accompany him to jazz concerts in Cape Town. The couple met when she was 16 and the journalist Zubeida Jaffer describes them as 'a couple who were tied at the hip'. Lombard's three children — Yana, Chevan and Shadley — grew up with a great sense of photography and Shadley is also a photographer. Tributes for Lombard poured in from musicians, and from political figures, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, the Democratic Alliance and The Good Party. In 2014, he was awarded the National Order of Ikhamanga in Silver in 2014 for his role working in jazz internationally. Caption: The late poet James Matthews, writer & activist with Alexander Sinton High School students protesting outside their school in Athlone, Cape Town, during the nation-wide schools boycott in 1985. Photo by Rashid Lombard. He gave us stages Lombard loved music and, for as long as he was able to, he would attend gigs all over Cape Town. During his lifetime, he must have witnessed thousands of musicians playing. One of his greatest achievements is co-founding the largest jazz event in South Africa, now called The Cape Town International Jazz Festival. Originally called The North Sea Jazz Festival, he was director from 2000 to 2014, and Yana worked with him booking artists. He also co-founded EspAfrika in 1998, the company which runs the festival. Prior to that he started a jazz club called Rosies at the V&A Waterfront, with Rubython and Jimi Matthews. Later, Rosies would become the name of a stage at the jazz festival. He also worked in radio at Fine Music Radio and P4. On his tour to South Africa in May, drummer Kesivan Naidoo dedicated his performance at the Baxter Theatre to Lombard, based on their long friendship. He shared this tribute: 'Today, we lost a giant. Rashid Lombard was more than a cultural icon, more than a mentor, more than a visionary. He was a father figure to an entire generation of South African musicians. A fierce believer in the transformative power of jazz. A documentarian of our stories. A builder of dreams. He gave us stages when there were none. He opened doors where only walls existed … 'Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for believing in all of us. May your journey onward be filled with light — and may we honour your life by continuing to make music, take up space, and tell our stories, boldly.' Caption: Rashid Lombard with Kesivan Naidoo at The Bailey in Cape Town, January 2024. Photographed by Yasser Booley. The Lessons he left behind Lombard's skill was that of a brilliant connector; extremely driven and ambitious. In his presence, one felt that anything was possible and that there was a solution to every problem. He was deeply passionate about art, activism, education and photography and throughout his life opened doors for many and we owe so much to him for doing so. He nurtured musicians, but more importantly, an entire arts community. He was passionate about education and he used the jazz festival as a medium for that to happen. If it were not for Lombard, I would not be an arts journalist today. For many years, he ran two education programmes at his festival, one for arts journalism, taught by Gwen Ansell, and one for photography taught by many of his comrades, such as the late Peter McKenzie. This course was essential to my education as a journalist and set the trajectory for the rest of my life. For a week, culminating in the festival, students would learn how to document jazz. I attended the arts journalism course in 2009. It was so good, I attended again in 2012, and later did the Arts Journalism Mentorship course taught by Fiona Lloyd. About teaching this course Ansell says: 'Rashid was the reason the arts journalism course worked. He saw the strength of the idea immediately, and pulled out all the stops to make it work, including finding a budget for scholarships to draw in students from across Africa — and seeing visa issues for them were sorted out so they could negotiate sometimes difficult SA immigration procedures. 'And the first thing he agreed, right at the start of the very first programme, was that the festival would be totally hands-off on what students wrote, even if it was critical of the event. Not everybody else in festival admin agreed with him, but he defended that principle fiercely. 'That tells you about his politics — he not only understood, but lived, the role of the media as an agent of democracy and change. It really shows the decline of such political awareness since.' Lombard also realised the importance of documentation and annually released a publication with images of jazz photography, these included; Jazz Rocks: Six decades of music in South Africa ; All That Jazz — a pictorial tribute ; 10th Anniversary of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival and Jazz, Blues, Swing: Six decades of music in South Africa. An archive for all of us Lombard's interest in archiving started in 1986, after being awarded a study and travel grant to work at the prestigious Magnum Photos in New York. From 1987, he was the chief photographer for South Press , the first alternative, anti-apartheid weekly newspaper in Cape Town. Rayson worked with him, and started to help organise his archive but, soon after, she was detained by the apartheid authorities for five months. After she was released in 1988, she continued to organise the archive. Caption: Rashid Lombard with Nelson Mandela in Soweto, three days after his release from prison in February 1990. Photo supplied by the family. Our interview was about his passion and vision for a centre for photographers in South Africa — something that was desperately needed and an idea which Lombard worked on over the last decade of his life. After leaving the jazz festival, digitising his archive became the top priority. He later partnered with the National Archives and the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture to make the collection publicly accessible online as a national heritage resource. His daughter Yana will carry on the mission to ensure this work continues. Speaking about the memory required, and the need for photographers to have a personal hand in putting an archive together, Lombard said, 'You saw when I opened the file in the cupboard? 'I said, 'Oh there's Peter Magubane!' It does come back … I mean it's an important question. It's why it's so important to do this now with me, before I pass on. Let's face it, you're going to pass on at some time. So the urgency is now!' Realising the lack of opportunities and support for photographers, Lombard's dream was to create a space to teach younger students and have a mentorship programme with older photographers. He wanted to preserve, digitise and move the entire archive into a building, which would also house a darkroom and other amenities affordable to photographers. Caption: A group photo of South African photographers taken at Spier in 2021 including Fanie Jason, Oscar Gutierrez, Gregory Franz, Simon Shiffman, Aymeric Pelluguin and Siphiwe Mhlambi. Image supplied by Siphiwe Mhlambi. His archive consists of 500 000 film negatives, alongside video, audio and posters, collected over 50 years. 'The idea was, instead of leaving all my archives to my kids — because it belongs to them, it's in the family trust — isn't it irresponsible for us to give them the task? They might want to do other things in life. But somebody has to look after it. 'And if a university is the custodian … for the next 100 years, maybe the university is still there, so that is a spot to leave it at. It's linked to the family and linked to me, but it's going to be around and will be accessible.' For his dream, he said he wanted the best of everything: 'I don't touch anything if it's not state-of-the-art,' with the intention of setting up darkrooms and assuring, 'I will find the money for it.' 'We are writing a new curriculum, We are getting young people in to train them, we are setting up a darkroom, we're going to clean negatives. But we have complete control over it. We are going to set up a new centre. Get young people in to start looking at pictures, and work with older photographers. 'Get unemployed activists to look at the work and write about it. They might just look at the contact sheet and then take it further to younger people … How do you distribute that information by phone? So it's not just a place to study archives, it's a photographic centre.' Lombard had taken part in numerous exhibitions since the Seventies and photographed some of the most important people in South Africa's history. In 1994, he was the personal photographer to Nelson Mandela during the election campaign. Caption: Rashid Lombard, New York, 1986, photographed by Ernest Cole. Courtesy of the Rashid Lombard Archive (RLA) He made it a personal mission to seek out the great photographer Ernest Cole, and was one of the last to photograph him in 1986. Their touching meeting formed part of the 2024 documentary Ernest Cole: Lost and Found by Raoul Peck. Cole, who had not held the camera for a decade, borrowed Lombard's and photographed him. Lombard's presence and demeanor suggested that he was part of a different era. He lived through all the smoke, from the grit of smoky newsrooms, to running away from explosions and teargas, to the smoke of cigarettes blowing away at late-night jazz gigs. Through it all, his lens lifted the veil for the truth, of which we are so thankful for. We remember him for all that he taught us.
