Ailing Winnie Khumalo reaches out to fans

News of Winnie’s ill health made its way to the Daily Sun after she recently took to WhatsApp to ask that fans pray for her as she finds herself unable to walk.

The newspaper contacted the singer, who from her hospital bed divulged that she is “very sick” and unable to “breathe properly or even sit up properly”. Scheduled to undergo a procedure to drain her ulcers later that day, she added that she has mercifully “been getting a lot of love from my fans”.

“Positive messages have been pouring into my inbox and Facebook page and I’m grateful,” she added.

Winnie’s daughter, 18-year-old Rethabile Khumalo, auditioned for ‘Idols SA’ in 2011 and 2012, only to be told that she was too young to compete, and this unfortunate turn of events reportedly overshadowed and complicated yet another attempt to compete this year. She failed to land a spot amongst the recently announced Top 16 contestants.

“She has been preparing for Idols. Last year she was under-age. And now when she has finally matured, her mother who is also her best friend and mentor has been taken seriously ill,” said a friend of the family.

Winnie Khumalo burst onto the SA music scene at the very tender age of 15, when she released her album ‘Hey Laitie, Tshina Tshina’. She was introduced to the music industry by the legendary Brenda Fassie, for whom she was a backup singer, and has also worked with high-profile artists like Sipho Mbele, Brothers of Peace (B.O.P), Bongo Maffin, Zonke Dikan, and DJ Cleo.

Khumalo also had small roles in the SABC series Muvhango and Mponeng, in which she played the role of a sangoma.

– TEAMtalk Media