Soap star sued over debt
2007-03-19 08:57
Cecil Motsepe
Johannesburg - Generations actress Bawinile "Winnie" Ntshaba is facing a court battle which could see her belongings, including her Roodepoort house, being auctioned.
Ntshaba stars as nervous wreck Khethiwe Buthelezi in the SABC1 programme.
Not only is the University of KwaZulu-Natal taking Ntshaba to court for failing to repay her student loan of about R67 000 but she reportedly also owes her friend, fellow actress Sophie Ndaba, R53 000 for organising her wedding.
Ndaba, who plays the role of Queen Moroka, planned Ntshaba's wedding to SABC cameraman Thabo Modise. Ndaba could not be reached for comment, but is said to be fuming over the money owed to her.
"Queen (Sophie) sent her (Ntshaba) a hot SMS telling her to talk to her new husband so they could start paying her money," a member of the Generations cast said this week.
The SMS is said to be doing the rounds within the cast of Generations, further tainting the relationship between the two actresses.
Drama rubbing off
Generations is South Africa's most watched soap opera, and the programme's drama seems to be rubbing off on the cast.
Ntshaba's wedding took place on December 16, the same day as that of fellow Generations actor Sonia Mbele (Ntombi Khumalo), who married former EMI legal eagle Lesley Sedibe.
This reportedly resulted in a stand-off between Mbele and Ntshaba because their colleagues were divided over which wedding to attend, with one happening in Johannesburg and the other at Sun City.
To add to the drama Ndaba, the wedding planner, is divorcing her husband, Themba, after 10 years of marriage.
A summons has been sent to Ntshaba by the office of the Roodepoort sheriff.
The actress attained her BA honours degree in drama from the university in 1997.
According to court records the embattled actress has only paid R250 of her student loan. And lawyers say the amount could rise to a little over R100 000 because of interest and litigation costs.
In 2005 Ntshaba had apparently made arrangements to pay the university R3 000 a month. But when she failed to keep up with the payments the courts were called in.
Court documents reveal that at the time her attorney, Nomnotho Mazibuko, managed to convince the university's lawyers to allow Ntshaba to pay R1 000 a month as she had other responsibilities.
Although it seems she has not paid them anything since then, Ntshaba claims she never stopped paying the university.
"You can't blame my parents (because) I studied through a loan. If I have a huge debt and they took me to the credit bureau, I don't see how that is a story. You can publish whatever but you will only be making me more famous," she said.
When asked about the money she owed Ndaba, she said she'd already paid her R20 000.
"I did not know that Sophie was fuming because I thought she was sorting out the money issue with my husband."
Close sources say the couple's planned getaway to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe for their honeymoon was also dealt a blow due to financial constraints. The couple flew to Cape Town instead, where they spent a quiet weekend at a friend's flat.
But Ntshaba insisted that this had nothing to do with money problems. "We ended up going to Cape Town because my passport got lost," she said.
- City Press