Tribute to Nomakula ‘Kuli” Roberts

By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE/ARETS Editor

Yesterday after hearing the death of media personality Kuli Roberts who reportedly colapsed and suddenly died on Wednesday night at a get together with friends , I had a conversation with a relative who followed her career closely, especially as a TV host and someone who was busy on social media platforms such as Twitter. Roberts had several roles on TV shows such as Mzansi  Magic’s the Queen  and recently Trending SA, in addition to having worked for print media platforms, such as magazines and newspapers and a radio station.

II had personally known Nomakula ‘Kuli” Roberts for over 20 years when  we both worked for different print media organisations, before our paths crossed again later in life when both of us worked for Sunday World in the 2000s. I was mainly a contributing  arts writer to the arts supplement called Hola, which has since folded, while Kuli contributed lifestyle content to the same supplement.  It was at that same newspaper when Roberts’s talent as a columnist was discovered by the late scribe Andrew Molefe who encouraged her to carry on writing the column that later became a popular one especially among female readers called Bitch’s Brerw. We then went our separate paths, but from time to time would meet at functions and our relationship was pretty cordial and respectful as colleagues.

The last time I met her was in Maboneng in 2020, shortly before the country went into lockdown when the Covid=19 situation deteriorated. Again we were at a function  at Agog a popular winery and Art Gallery in the area..

And again it was a cordial meeting punctuated by chit chats and the usual jokes. At that stage I had of course known about her career trajectory, including her time at Kaya FM where she co-hosted the Breakfast show with  the late Bob Mabena, as well  as her surprise return to Sunday World as lifestyle editor.

This was her second stint at the paper after she was fired in the mid 2000s for a controversial piece about Coloured people in her  popular column  Bitch’s Brew, that was deemed to be in bad taste and lacking racial sensibilities and propriety. I had also known about a TV show on SABC3, and those who followed the show, like my relative, believed it was a decent show.

I had also known about her debut fiction book titled Siren, which was released in 2019. And so when we met I joked that the main character in her book called  Zinhle striking  fits Kuli well, and that I suspected it is her. We both laughed, and of course it was just a joke between people who had known each other for quite a long time.

And just for those who may not have read Kuli’s book yet here is the gist of that character as per marketing material from the publisher when the book was released in  2019:

“Meet Zinhle, the glamorous Siren, as she reels through the highs and lows of fame-seeking in Jozi. Zinhle lives through a sham marriage, a stint as the lover of a Nollywood high-roller, sex parties, and an affair with a football star. She bed-hops from man to powerful man, overcoming cattiness, rivalry, cheating and dodgy agents, to nab a starring role in Heritage, a highly successful soapie. She has attitude and sass in bucket loads and is never far from the latest front-page scandal. Siren, Kuli Roberts’s gripping debut novel, is a classic rags-to-riches tale, jam-packed with drama, hot sex and reversals of fortune that will keep readers zipping through the pages until the very end<” the publisher says about the book.

And just before the book was published, Roberts herself had this to say about the process of writing the book.

“Writing Siren was delicious as all those columns were about men. Siren’s journey you will relate to. Her pain in the entertainment industry reflects ours in 2019, and so do her pleasures. Men marrying women when all they want is a hairy chest is soul destroying,” she wrote on her favourite social media platform Twitter.

And so since I have known her that long, so what?  What I can say is Kuli, as she was known in the media industry, born in Cape Town and educated at the University of Cape Town and hustling at the local ANC office as a volunteer before find her feet in the media was a confident, vivacious woman who talked a lot, probably too much.  She was energetic and always ready to laugh and laugfh loudly.

There is no doubt that she was driven and in many ways, was a go getter as her career trajectory illustrates as she managed to work in print, radio and TV and in all those platforms, she definitely left a mark to her target audience. Some among us may not have liked her kind of media output, as her detractors point a lot of her flaws, such as that she was childish-like in platforms, especially Twitter for example.

For example my relative in the brief conversation when news broke out about her death pointed out that “She was of course full of life, but somehow I felt like she was childish, or that she was someone who never wanted to accept the fact that she was a grown up, especially judging by her dress sense, and the kinds of messages she posted on Twitter” said the relative who by the way is a also a woman.

Be that as it may , however there is no denying the fact that Kuli lived her life fully, spoke her mind and was quite ambitious. She was also someone who was able to ride over setbacks in life, and she had several of them along the way, especially when it comes to her professional life. But one thing for sure, after falling, she would always dust herself up and rise again.

However at the time of her death, it was not clear whether she had a job after she had lost her position for the second time at Sunday World where she was lifestyle editor. She lost the job late last year after news broke out that she was a candidate forAfrican Transformation Party (ATM Party), in the Local Government Elections , representing the Party in Ward  65 in Pretoria as a councilor candidate. This  decision came into direct conflict with her position as a journalist at Sunday World,  making her situation untenable, and as a result, she had to get the chop.

But again who knows, as a survivor, she probably was going to rise again did death not ambush her at the premature age of 49.

Although information surrounding  death was still sketchy yesterday, it is said that she collapsed and died at a get together with friends. As  more information comes out, CITYLIFE/ARTS will update this story. Kuli  leaves behind two children, a grandchild, her parents and three siblings.May your soul Rest In  Peace Kuli.