Powerful and Famous African Celebrities
If you like our articles about Inspiring African Celebrities To Watch, then you will the Celebs mentioned below as well.
CYRIL RAMAPHOSA
The current president of South Africa, Ramaphosa was born in Johannesburg in 1952. After attending primary school and high school in Soweto, he studied law at the University of the North in Limpopo.
During his university years, he joined South African Students Organization and the Black People’s Convention. He was detained in solitary confinement in 1974 for organizing pro-Frelimo rallies for Mozambique.
After being released, he became a law clerk in Johannesburg and continued pursuing higher education at the University of South Africa. He then joined the Council of Unions of South Africa as a legal adviser.
He then founded the National Union of Mineworkers in 1982 where he worked until 1991; however, he had to resign when he was elected as the Secretary General of the African National Congress.
In ANC, he served as chairman of the National Reception committee and coordinated arrangement for the release of Nelson Mandela. He was also the head of the negotiation team to end the apartheid through negotiations with the National Party government.
After losing a race to become the President to Thabo Mheki, he resigned from his political positions in 1997. Moving to the private sector, he became the director of New Africa Investments Limited.
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In 2012, he reclaimed his political positions in ANC and entered the race for Deputy Presidency, which he won.
He was appointed Deputy President by Jacob Zuma in 2014 as well as the Leader of Government Business in the National Assembly. Throughout the next four years, he worked on improving the international trade relations with Vietnam and Singapore.
His second run for Presidency was in 2017 (20 years after his attempt). Following Jacob Zuma’s resignation in 2018, Ramaphosa was elected as President of South Africa. He subsequently removed the cabinet members whose names were tarnished through the Zuma era.
ANGE KAGAME
Meet Ange Kagame, the only daughter of the current president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame. She is widely known for her causes and charity work.
She is a strong advocate for empowering women, a strong advocate of education and eradication of poverty as well emphasising disease immunization campaigns.
Ange Kagame was born in 1993 in Brussels and completed her education abroad away from the public eye. She went to Wellesley, Massachusetts to study political science with a minor in African studies.
Her first public appearance was in 2014 when she accompanied her father to the White House for a dinner hosted by Former President Barack Obama.
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She currently continues her master’s degree in International Affairs at Columbia University, while working for several causes that focus on women’s empowerment, education, mass vaccination campaigns and poverty.
Ange Kagame is a patron of various charitable organisations and women empowerment, disease immunization campaigns, education and eradication of poverty are things she loves taking part in.
SBAHLE MPISANE
Sbahle Mpisane is a South African fitness influencer and lifestyle coach who was born in 1993. His father was a successful tycoon from Durban, which made her somehow well-known from a young age. Her coming of age party saw the participation of then-First Lady Thobeka Madiba-Zuma.
In 2018, she had a horrible car crash in Durban which left her fighting for her life for 8 months. After full recovery, she is working even harder to lose the weight she gained during her recovery period. Besides aerobic work outs, she is also interested in martial arts, surfing and running boot camps weekly for women in Durban.
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Efya (Jane Awindor)
Efya, was born on 10th April, 1987 in Kumasi, Ghana. Her mother is Nana Adwoa Awindor, a renowned Ghanaian Tv host (Greetings From Abroad) and the Development Queenmother of Afigya-Kwabre district in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.
During her college years, she attended Yaa Asantewaa Secondary School in Kumasi and later graduated from the University of Ghana Legon majoring in Theatre Arts and minor in music.
She became an instant hit with Ghanaians, this led to her becoming the first runner up in Charter house’s Stars of The Future television show. Efya secured a 3-year recording deal and a collaboration with Irene Logan.
The multi-talented star has since branched on her own. In 2013, she released ‘This Is Not The Album’ (the ‘T.I.N.T. Album’) and has since released many songs including:
Forgetting Me, Until the Dawn, Love, Paper Guns, Make I Love You, Mamee (with Mr Eazi) Love Genesis, Little Things, Nothing and more.
SIKHANYISO DLAMINI
Princess Sikhanyiso Dlamini is the current minister of Information and Communication technologies of Eswatini (former Swaziland) and the eldest daughter of the King Mswati III.
She attended primary and high schools in the UK and then went to California to study drama at Biola University.
Princess Sikhanyiso Dlamin then completed a master’s degree at Sydney University in digital communication. During those years, she was the center of debates in Swaziland, because 1- there were alleged rumors about her parents having spent close to 100000 USD on her trip and 2- of her Westernized lifestyle and rebellious attitude towards her family traditions.
Despite her controversies, she managed a successful business career by launching the Imbali Foundation that emphasizes health education in Eswatini.
She is currently a member of the board of directors of MTN Swaziland (a mobile telecommunications company from South Africa)
SELLO MAAKE KA-Ncube
Sello Maake Ka-Ncube is one of the most reputable South African actors. He was born in 1960 in Soweto. He grew up in Pretoria before moving to London. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and participated in plays like Othello, the Suit and The Lion King.
He also started making appearances in movies in early 1990s such as Dark City, The Rutanga Tapes and Taxi to Soweto. He rose to fame in South Africa on ETV soap opera called Scandal.
Sello’s portrayal of the villain Lucas Daniel Nyathi received critical acclaim. The show was one of the longest running soap operas of South African Tv. He received awards in early 2000s for his performance in the TV series.
He currently stars in Mzansi Magic’s TV dramas; The Wueend and Rockville. He also performs in theater plays both in South Africa and abroad.
ESAU MWAMWAYA
It might be hard to imagine the fusion of hip hop, pop and traditional African music, but Esau Mwamwaya is the best example of that in Malawi.
He was born in Malawi, but he moved to London in his teenage years. His success was a result of his outgoing personality and networking abilities.
While he was working at a second hand shop in Clapton, he sold a bicycle to a producer who was working with a band called Radioclit.
This opened the doors to their studio, where he collaborated with the band members and formed a project called The Very Best. Even though the lyrics were in Chichewa, the album became a commercial success.
The band featured many indie artists such as M.I.A and Vampire Weekend, which contributed further to their success. The album won several awards at the 9th Independent Music Awards.
LUCIUS BANDA
Reggae was introduced to Malawi by the Rastafarians that lived around the lakefront, but its popularity has elevated in the nineties. Lucius Banda, one of the reggae pioneers, was born in 1970 in southern Malawi.
His singing career dates back to 1983 when he started singing with his brother who was the lead singer of the band Alleluya.
After completing primary education, he was admitted to Dorkey House in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he spent one year. Upon graduation he released his first album “Son of A Poor Man” which was a commercial success.
During the recording, various reggae and gospel singers provided back vocals for him. This inspired him to shift toward reggae and led him to form his own band Zembani in 1997.
Their music put a strong emphasis on socio-economic struggles faced by Malawians, social injustice and corruption within the government units. Due to this political aspect, they became one most loved and celebrated bands in Africa…
