WATCH: Leleti Khumalo's unexpected encounter with Ramaphosa
Veteran actress Leleti Khumalo recently had an unexpected encounter with President Cyril Ramaphosa as she travelled to and from the prestigious Golden Nymph Awards in Monaco.
Khumalo, best known for her iconic role in Sarafina!, had been in Monaco for the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, where the short film Don't Give Up, in which she stars, won the award for Best Creation in the Fiction category.
The film, produced by veteran filmmaker Anant Singh, tells the harrowing story of a homeless mother trying to survive on the streets of Johannesburg with her two sons.
In a heartfelt Instagram post, Khumalo gushed about crossing paths with President Ramaphosa both before her departure and again upon her return to South Africa.
'I had the pleasure of bumping into our President upon our departure to Monaco. We were travelling to different countries, but were scheduled to be on the same flight. We had a great conversation, and he also wished me great luck for the awards and my nomination.'
She added: 'To my surprise, we bumped into him again on our return to South Africa – on the same flight again – but this time I had the award with me. It was truly an honour to show him the award and how well South Africa had been represented at Monaco.'
ALSO READ: South Africa's award-winning trio bags another accolade at Monte-Carlo Television Festival
Ramaphosa congratulates Leleti and the team
President Ramaphosa also took to social media to congratulate Khumalo and her team, saying he was delighted to have met the actress.
'Leleti did have something to declare: she'd returned from the Monte-Carlo Television Festival in Monaco, where she and acclaimed film producer Anant Singh had won the prestigious Golden Nymph Award for their work on the short film Don't Give Up, which portrays life on the streets of Johannesburg for a begging mother of two.
'I congratulate Leleti Khumalo and Anant Singh for flying our flag and for spotlighting one of our nation's socioeconomic challenges.'
On my travels to and from the G7 Leaders' Summit in Canada, I had the good and proud fortune of bumping into our veteran star performer Leleti Khumalo at OR Tambo International Airport.
Leleti did have something to declare: she'd returned from the Monte Carlo Television Festival… pic.twitter.com/iI18v0DCsS — Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) June 19, 2025
NOW READ: Bolt pokes holes in TikToker Simthande Myeza's abduction claims
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
14 hours ago
- IOL News
Cooking up connections: how a New York restaurant is preserving grandmothers' recipes and healing hearts
In Scaravella's words: 'Every dish has a story. And those stories keep people alive, even long after they're gone. Image: Los Muertos Crew /pexels Growing up, I never had much of a relationship with my grandmother. Yet watching my mom pour love, laughter and gentle discipline into my daughter has quietly healed something in me. Suddenly, all the stories about gogos (grandmothers), their warmth, their love, their quiet power started making sense. That's why when I saw a viral Instagram post shared by thishowthingswork about Enoteca Maria, a New York restaurant that hires real grandmothers, not chefs, to cook in its kitchen, it stopped me in my scroll. It wasn't just a sweet gimmick; it was a comforting reminder of how food, family and memory can keep us stitched together, even across oceans and generations. A table set by love and loss Enoteca Maria isn't your usual trendy New York spot. Opened in 2007 by Joe 'Jody' Scaravella, the restaurant began as a tribute to the two women who taught him the language of love through food: his Nonna Domenica and his mother Maria. Scaravella, 70, told "TIME" magazine: 'This is not a restaurant. It walks like a restaurant, smells like a restaurant, talks like a restaurant, but it's not. It's a cultural exchange.' After losing his grandfather, father, mother, grandmother, and sister in quick succession, Scaravella fell into a deep depression. He used part of his inheritance to buy a storefront on a quiet Staten Island street, near the St. George Theatre. His vision was to fill the space with the same warmth, stubborn pride, and homemade recipes that had once filled his childhood kitchen. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Grandmothers behind the stove Scaravella didn't want professional chefs; he wanted real grandmothers, each carrying family recipes shaped by memory, migration, and maternal love. He placed an ad, and soon, grandmothers from every corner of the world responded. At Enoteca Maria today, half the menu is consistently Italian. The other half changes daily, shaped by whichever grandmother is cooking that night. From Nonna Diana's Mexican dishes to Sri Lankan curries or Senegalese stews, each meal becomes a living history lesson. Scaravella explained to "The New York Times", 'They're taking what their mother taught them to make, what their grandmother taught them to make, and every time these ladies are in the kitchen, you have all of this culture coming out of their fingertips.' This idea goes beyond nostalgia. Food anthropologist Dr Krishnendu Ray, chair of Nutrition and Food Studies at NYU, notes that recipes passed through generations act as 'archives of memory'. They're living proof that our identities aren't just built on what we eat, but how we share it. That sharing can heal, too. According to a study in "Appetite", cooking family recipes with loved ones can reduce loneliness and strengthen intergenerational bonds, something Scaravella's restaurant embodies every single night. Beyond dining, Enoteca Maria hosts free cooking classes where guests can learn directly from the grandmothers. Scaravella dreams of building an online community where anyone, anywhere, can share and preserve their family's recipes. According to a study in Appetite, cooking family recipes with loved ones can reduce loneliness and strengthen intergenerational bonds, something Scaravella's restaurant embodies every single night. Image: olia danilevich/pexels On screen and in spirit This remarkable story even inspired a Netflix movie, "Nonnas", released in May this year. Although I haven't seen it yet, it's definitely on my binge list now because of Vince Vaughn. Vaughn plays Scaravella, while Susan Sarandon, Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, and Brenda Vaccaro bring the grandmothers to life. But behind the Hollywood sparkle, the film honours something deeply human: how food can keep us connected to people we've lost, and to those still beside us. Watching my mom bake with my daughter, giggling over too much flour on the counter, I see what Scaravella saw. Grandmothers carry more than recipes; they carry stories, lessons, and gentle reminders of who we are. In our culture, we call them gogo or oomakhulu, guardians of memory, laughter, and sometimes stubbornness too. Whether in a New York kitchen or a village home in the Eastern Cape, their love tastes the same: patient, warm and deeply healing. Enoteca Maria isn't just about food. It's about reminding us that growing older shouldn't mean becoming invisible. And those family recipes, much like family stories, are most powerful when shared around a crowded table. In Scaravella's words: 'Every dish has a story. And those stories keep people alive, even long after they're gone.'
The Citizen
14 hours ago
- The Citizen
‘My heart is full': Itumeleng Khune and his family on holiday
Khune's wife shared cute beach moments on social media, offering fans a glimpse of their quality time together with their two daughters. Soccer legend Itumeleng Khune and his family at the beach. Picture: Instagram/@ laaylaymak Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune and his wife, Sphelele Makhunga, are soaking up the sun on a family getaway. Sphelele shared photos and videos of the couple and their children enjoying time at the beach. 'God is great. My heart is full,' she captioned the post, keeping the location of their vacation private. ALSO READ: Thembi Seete stuns in white bikini during luxurious Mauritius getaway [PICS] Over half a decade of bliss Khune and Sphelele have been married for more than five years, with Khune reportedly paying lobola in 2019. In 2022, they celebrated their union with a traditional wedding ceremony. The pair have two daughters together: their firstborn, Amogelang Zenande, and their second daughter, Lesedi Zenande. Last month, Sphelele penned a heartfelt message to Khune in celebration of his birthday. 'I love and appreciate the fact that we have to navigate this crazy thing called life together and our little bears. We love you wholeheartedly and cannot wait to spend a million more birthdays together,' she wrote. NOW READ: 'I'm an action woman — meetings will bore me': Gcina Mhlophe urges action at National Dialogue
IOL News
16 hours ago
- IOL News
IShowSpeed's KFC shock in South Africa sparks laughs, shedding light on Western misconceptions about Africa
During one of his streams, American internet personality IShowspeed was shocked to discover that South Africa has a KFC. Image: Instagram American YouTuber and streamer, IShowspeed (real name Darren Watkins Jr), was shocked after finding out that there is KFC in South Africa. The internet personality was live during one of his streams while he was playing the GeoGuessr game, a global geography game that challenges your ability to recognise your surroundings. While playing the game, Watkins came across KFC and assumed that it was America; however, he said that, based on the roads, the area had to be in Canada. 'Wait, this is not America. This is Canada; America does not look like this because the roads do not look like this in America. So I'm going with Canada,' he said. However, to his surprise, the game revealed that the area is actually somewhere in South Africa. 'Whaat?! Why does South Africa have KFC?' he exclaimed. While the 20-year-old streamer's reaction sparked a conversation in South Africa, this is not the first time that Americans have been shocked to learn how developed other countries in Africa are. In the past, there have been many cases, whereby a lot of people, more specifically people outside of Africa, have expressed their shock to learn that Africa is not what the Western media usually depicts it to be. Many of them have claimed that the Western media pushes propaganda that Africa is a continent that usually has huts, wild animals roam freely, and overall claims that it is a poor continent. A TikTok @yoitsram shared a video early this year, where he shared how shocked he was to learn how developed and advanced South Africa is. He captioned his post: 'South Africa, I need an explanation!!' In addition, many online users who usually visit or have relocated abroad have shared their experiences whereby they get asked unusual questions about Africa, such as 'Do you guys have tap water/running water?' or "Do you guys in Africa have electricity?", while some think Africa is a country, not a continent. TikTok user @angel_0209 shared a list of questions that she was asked while being abroad as someone from South Africa. 'Listen, when I tell you, like, how they thought I came from the bush? Like, I'm actually gonna do a video about the questions I've gotten, but I'm gonna give you two. They always ask me if I'm related to Trevor Noah or knew Trevor's family,' she said. She also said that she once went to the zoo and one lady said to her, 'Oh, this must feel like home.'
