TV presenter Ndebele dies in asthma attack

TV presenter Ndebele dies in asthma attack

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By Showbiz Reporter

TV PRESENTER Henrietta Ndebele has died.

She was 28.

She died early Thursday at Mater Die Hospital in Bulawayo where she was admitted on Monday.

Friends last night remembered her "rare talent and intelligence".

Acting Information Minister Paul Mangwana said she had become an "integral part of public information dissemination".

Ndebele was working as a part time news presenter for Newsnet, a subsidiary of Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings. She was anchor for This Morning and Sunday Edition news bulletins.

Family spokesperson Prisca Utete, said Ndebele died at around 3.45am. She had been in and out of hospital since July suffering from asthma attacks, Utete said.

Ndebele recently moved to her mother's house in Bulawayo to recover, but was admitted at Mater Die Hospital on Monday when her condition worsened.

Utete said: “It’s a great loss to the family and her death came as a shock because Henrietta was recovering."

She said Ndebele’s body would lie in state at her Saurcetown home on Friday before burial at Westpark Cemetery Saturday.

Ndebele was born in Bulawayo and went to Mckeutan Primary School before proceeding to John Tallack High School for her secondary education.

She later went to Manama High School in Gwanda District for her Advanced Level before enrolling at the Harare Polytechnic where she attained a diploma in Mass Communication in 2001.

She did her attachment at the Sunday News in Bulawayo.

Ndebele worked for Spot FM and later joined Newsnet on a part time basis, where she became popular for hosting This Morning and Sunday Edition.

She was a public relations officer for the Scientific Industrial Research and Development Centre.

Acting Information Minister Paul Mangwana said last night: "I learnt with a deep sense of shock and grief of the death of Ndebele.

"Henrietta had become an integral part of public information dissemination through the medium of television, that her sad departure will be instantly felt by many Zimbabweans.

“On behalf of the Ministry of Information and Publicity, I wish to convey my deepest condolences to the Ndebele family on their very sad loss. Let them derive some comfort from the excellent service Henrietta gave to her country in the information field.”

Mathew Takaona, President of the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists said: “Colleagues will remember Henrietta for her rare talent and intelligence which saw her clinching the best student award in journalism class in 2001 and her meteoric rise in the world of showbiz."

Takaona said Ndebele was one of the most sought after hosts in corporate functions and she was the hostess at the National Journalistic and Media Awards.

Phathisani Moyo, who worked with Ndebele at the Sunday News spoke of her "refreshing personality".

He said: “We have lost a colleague and a friend. It’s really a sad loss because she had become synonymous with This Morning. She was a refreshing personality on television."
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