Basetsana Kumalo Biography

Basetsana Kumalo Biography: Early Life and Education | Pageantry | TV Career | Personal Life | Philanthropy | Controversies

Basetsana Kumalo is a South African television personality, beauty pageant titleholder, businesswoman, and philanthropist. She is best known for winning Miss South Africa in 1994 and becoming the first runner-up in Miss World in the same year.

Basetsana Kumalo Early Life and Education

Basetsana Julia “Bassie” Kumalo was born on March 29, 1974, in Soweto, South Africa, to Philip Makgalemele, a bus driver, and Beatrice Makgalemele, a schoolteacher. She grew up in a family of two sisters and a brother, and she helped support her family by making sandwiches to sell at soccer matches on weekends. Basetsana attended Thabisang Primary School in Orlando West, Soweto, and later, due to student unrest in Soweto in 1986, she was sent to Trinity Secondary School in Lenasia, where she completed her matriculation. She pursued her education at the University of Venda, majoring in education, and also studied at Damelin College.

Pageantry and TV Career

Basetsana’s career in pageantry began in 1990 when she was crowned Miss Soweto and Miss Black South Africa at the age of 16. 1994 she won the prestigious Miss South Africa title, becoming only the second black woman to achieve this honour after Jacqui Mofokeng in 1993. In the same year, she became the first runner-up in the Miss World pageant, which was held in Sun City, South Africa.

ALSO READ: Siya Kolisi Biography: Early Life and Education | Club Career | International Career | Personal Life

Personal Life and Philanthropy

The couple launched the Romeo & Basetsana  Family Foundation, which is dedicated to supporting children orphaned by AIDS and other related diseases. In 2009, their foundation received the Inyathelo Philanthropy Merit Award. Basetsana also worked as a spokesperson for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Pampers’ campaign to eradicate neonatal and maternal tetanus worldwide, with the goal of saving more than 250 million infants by 2012.

ALSO READ: Minnie Dlamini Biography: Early Life and Education | Career | Philanthropist | Personal Life

Basetsana Kumalo Controversies

In 2018 Basetsana and her husband were involved in a defamation case against author Jackie Phamotse. Phamotse had tweeted about an alleged s_x tape involving a female TV mogul and her husband, implicating the Kumalos without naming them directly. The Kumalos claimed that Phamotse’s intent was to harm their reputation and took legal action. In September 2023, Jackie Phamotse was found guilty of crimen injuria, criminal defamation, and contempt of court by the Randburg Magistrates’ Court. Basetsana Kumalo expressed relief and satisfaction at the verdict, considering it a victory against cyberbullying.

References

1 News24 – ‘Reflection, healing, and recovery’: Basetsana and Romeo Kumalo open up about legal ‘ordeal.’
2 7025 – Bruce Whitfield interviews Basetsana Kumalo about her attitude to money.
3 Pageant Planet – Basetsana Kumalo.
4 Basetsana Kumalo – Basetsana Kumalo.
5 Sunday World – Why the court found Jackie Phamotse guilty of defamation.