Gugulethu Zuma-Ncube

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Gugulethu Zuma-Ncube
Born (1985-10-10) 10 October 1985 (age 36)
Johannesburg, South Africa
Medium
  • Television
Years active2007–present
Genres
Subject(s)
Spouse
Wesley Ncube
​
(m. 2008)​

Gugulethu Zuma-Ncube (born 10 October 1985) is a South African producer, actress and daughter of former President Jacob Zuma and African National Congress (ANC) politician Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, and daughter-in-law to Zimbabwean Movement for Democratic Change Alliance politician Professor Welshman Ncube.[1][2]

Personal life[]

Gugulethu Zuma-Ncube, daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma with politician ANC former wife Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, is married to mathematician Wesley Ncube, son of Zimbabwean politician Prof Welshman Ncube.[3] They were married on their wedding day on 20 December 2008 in Pretoria, South Africa.[3]

career[]

Gugulethu Zuma-Ncube is a TV producer of serial dramas mainly on prime TV through her production company Stained Glass which she co-owns with her sister producer Thuli Zuma; the pair has produced Ifalakhe for pay-per-view channel Mzansi Magic.[4] She's produced the leading TV serial exploitation drama Uzalo on the leading channel SABC 1;[5] she also produces South Africa's medical drama Durban Gen on the privately owned channel E TV since October 2020;[6] and she also produces Ehostela on Mzansi Magic.[7]

Early life[]

Zuma-Ncube was born in 1985. In 2007, she graduated from AFDA with a Live Performance degree. Sindiswa, a graduation film in which she played a role, was nominated for the Student Academy Awards (Student Oscars) in Hollywood.[1] She met her future husband, Wesley Ncube, while she was studying in Cape Town, and married him at the end of 2008.[8]

Career[]

Gugulethu has appeared in several television shows, including Interrogation Room, SABC3's Isidingo,[9] and e.tv's Rhythm City.[10][11]

It's for Life[]

Through Nyenyedzi Productions, which she co-owns with her sisters and Thuthukile Zuma, she co-produced and acted in Mzansi Magic's It’s for Life, a 2011 sitcom about four 20-somethings who find a squatter in their house.[9][12] Their father promoted the series through his official presidential Twitter account, for which he received criticism.[13][14]

Uzalo[]

Zuma-Ncube also co-owns Stained Glass Productions with Kobedi "Pepsi" Pokane, through which they co-produced Uzalo for the SABC1 channel.[15] It aired five days per week, Monday to Friday, and was the second-most popular television show in South Africa, behind Mzansi Magic's Isibaya telenovella, with which it was intended to compete.[16]

In 2015 and 2016, various national newspapers alleged that Zuma-Ncube benefitted unduly from nepotism through contracts of R167 million from the SABC and R8 million from the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality for Uzalo.[17][18]

The first season of Uzalo, which aired in 2015, cost R50 million,[16] and was filmed and produced in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal,[15] where it received R8 million from the ANC-led local municipal government.[11] The Democratic Alliance accused the local municipality of patronage for funding the private production, noting that there would be no government oversight of the spending and that the money could have helped less established entertainment businesses instead.[19][20]

The TV series was caught in controversy when then-SABC CEO Hlaudi Motsoeneng intervened in a decision not to renew the series, deciding instead to commission another three seasons for around R167 million, an amount with which "the SABC could produce about 20 programmes".[21] Stained Glass Productions were accused of political interference with the procurement processes of the SABC, which the co-producers denied, claiming that they "did everything by the book" and that they received no "special treatment".[22][23][24]

Politics[]

In 2011, she volunteered at Luthuli House, the ANC's headquarters, with her sister Thuthukile.[9]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "So who are Zuma's 22 children?". Parent. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  2. ^ Peta, Basildon (20 December 2008). "Zuma's daughter marries into Zimbabwe politics". The Independent. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Zuma's daughter marries into Zimbabwe politics | The Independent | The Independent". Independent.co.uk. 20 December 2008.
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "A record breaking 11.4m people watch an Uzalo episode".
  6. ^ "Durban Gen scales greater heights in viewership".
  7. ^ "Mzansi Magic - Ehostela".
  8. ^ Smook, Ella (18 December 2008). "Zuma, Ncube wedding goes ahead". IOL. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  9. ^ a b c "Zuma's daughters spark job controversy". The Star. South Africa. 30 September 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  10. ^ Thangevelo, Debashine (17 March 2014). "Soap star Zuma-Ncube finds her rhythm". IOL. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  11. ^ a b Bambalele, Patience (7 February 2015). "'Uzalo' hope for Zuma". The Sowetan. Archived from the original on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  12. ^ Pauw, Jacques; van der Merwe, Jeanne (27 July 2014). "Jacob Zuma's family empire". City Press. South Africa. Archived from the original on 1 August 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  13. ^ "When President Zuma endorsed his daughter's TV show". Daily Dispatch. 15 July 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  14. ^ Smith, David (29 July 2014). "Jacob Zuma accused of nepotism after giving daughter ministry position". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  15. ^ a b Roets, Adriaan (18 January 2015). "When blood is forever". The Citizen. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  16. ^ a b Blignaut, Charl; Sithole, Siyabonga (19 January 2015). "Zuma's daughter caught up in TV show drama". Channel. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  17. ^ "Did ANC lose votes because of Uzalo? Zuma's daughter explains — The Citizen".
  18. ^ "Funding for Zuma's daughter's soapie debated | News24".
  19. ^ "DA condemns KZN's R5 Million cash injection into Uzalo". South African Broadcasting Corporation. 24 June 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2017.[dead link]
  20. ^ Khoza, Amanda (23 June 2015). "President Zuma's daughter gets R5m subsidy for SABC Durban soapie - Uzalo". BizNews. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  21. ^ wa Afrika, Mzilikazi (10 July 2016). "Hlaudi's R167m Zuma TV deal". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 10 July 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  22. ^ "Uzalo producers dispute R167 million deal: We are getting R14,000 a minute". Times LIVE. 11 July 2016. Archived from the original on 26 May 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  23. ^ "Uzalo creators: 'We did everything by the book' on Hlaudi intervention". 702. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  24. ^ Madibogo, Julia (11 July 2016). "President Zuma's daughter shares her side of the Uzalo story". Times LIVE. Archived from the original on 11 July 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
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