By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Veteran singer and actress Winnie Khumalo has passed away at the age of 51, her death was confirmed by her family.
Her sister and representative for the family Tshepi Rakeepile confirmed she died on Tuesday after a short illness.
“She was really not well. Unfortunately on their drive to the hospital that’s when she passed away. When they arrived at the hospital they pronounced her dead on arrival.”
Rakeepile said funeral details will be communicated in due time.
In November, Khumalo was admitted into a Johannesburg hospital after suffering from shortness of breath, which she later learnt was asthma.
This was not her first health scare. A few years ago, she was diagnosed with diabetes, which she has successfully managed.
She was also wheelchair-bound for a few weeks following a back operation and an abscess that had developed in her buttocks in 2017.
Khumalo worked for Brenda Fassie as a backing singer. At the age of 15, she released the album Hey Laitie, Tshina Tshina (produced by Sello Chicco Twala).
It was followed by an album titled Dlamini, also in the 1980s. She also recorded a gospel album titled Izono Zami in the 1990s, produced by Pastor Langa Dube.
Khumalo also had small roles in the SABC series Muvhango and Mponeng, in which she played a sangoma. She was also in a stage play titled The Journey. After a break from live performance and recording, Khumalo returned in 2008. She released a mature album titled I Just Wanna Live My Life. And it was produced and distributed by Kalawa Jazzmee Record’s Oscar “Oskido” Mdlongwa.
The video for I Just Wanna Live My Life was nominated for Best Dance Video and Best Afro Pop Video at the Channel O Music Awards. It was also nominated as one of the top five nominees at the South African Music Awards (SAMAs).
Khumalo survived by her son, Ntando, daughter, Rethabile Khumalo, and three grandchildren, three sisters and her mother.