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07 March 2025
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Story Anthony Mthembu
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Photo Supplied
Crystal-Donna Roberts, recipient of the 2016 Kovsie Ambassador Award and award-winning actress, has died following a battle with breast cancer.
The University of the Free State (UFS) is deeply saddened by the passing of alumna and award-winning actress Crystal-Donna Roberts at the age of 41. According to Eyewitness News (EWN), Roberts passed away during the early hours of 6 March 2025, following a long battle with breast cancer.
The UFS extends its deepest condolences to Roberts’ family, friends, colleagues, and supporters.
Celebrating a beloved actress
Roberts graduated from the UFS with a BA Drama and Theatre Arts degree in 2005 and went on to create work that was beloved across the country and beyond. She starred in the Afrikaans soap opera 7de Laan and shows like Getroud Met Rugby, Montana and Vallei van Sluiers, among others. Her lead role in the film Krotoa earned her the Best Actress award in 2018 at the South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs).
Her extensive career in film and television was one of the reasons she was recognised by the UFS with the Kovsie Ambassador Award in 2016. This is an award given to alumni whose accomplishments have not only benefited themselves but their community and the UFS. Although Roberts was well-known for her work on stage and screens, she was also an author. She released her debut novel Speurder Sammi: Die blou steen (Detective Sammi: The Blue Stone) in 2022.
Outpouring of praise
Since the news of Roberts’ passing broke, there has been an outpouring of tributes on social media. Many of her supporters and colleagues have described her as an iconic force who was full of life and inspired many. Alistair Izobell, who starred alongside Roberts in Arendsvlei, responded to the news through a Facebook post which said, “My dearest sister Crystal-Donna Roberts my heart is broken today. You got your wings and your pain is no more. I am thrilled I got to do a chapter of my life with you. I will remember you with the great spirit you were. Now rest sweetly.”
Prof Moffett’s third book provides comprehensive guide to Basotho medicinal plants
2017-07-26
Prof Rodney Moffett’s three books documenting Basotho
plants, animals, and the history of the Free State and Lesotho.
Photo: Thabo Kessah
Prof Rodney Moffett has recently published his third book, Basotho Medicinal Plants – Meriana ya Dimela Tsa Basotho. This latest offering deals only with medicinal uses and is based on the data from his first book, Sesotho Plant and Animal Names and Plants Used by the Basotho.
“The latest book came about after a Sesotho language advisor in the Free State Department of Education suggested that there was a need for the medicinal uses of plants by the Basotho to be documented in the vernacular. In a situation where there is an almost total lack of scientific literature in the vernacular, the greatest value of this book therefore, is that it provides a comprehensive guide to the medicinal uses of plants in Sesotho,” said Prof Moffett, Honorary Research Associate in the Department of Plant Sciences on the Qwaqwa Campus.
Book lists names of plants in Sesotho
“It comprises two parts. Part one lists the medicinal categories and plants used, and part two lists the medicinal uses arranged according to the Sesotho names of the plants. It is easy to read, as the information is presented alphabetically with the Sesotho name first, followed by the scientific name and usage thereof. Because a plant often has more than one Sesotho name, the scientific name is included to identify it.”
Prof Chris Nhlapo, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, and Prof Ntsamaeeng Moteetee from the University of Johannesburg are impressed with the book, respectively saying that it assists in documenting the deep indigenous knowledge of the “proud tradition of the Basotho Nation” and it is “an important contribution to the documentation of medicinal plant uses”.
The title of Prof Moffet’s second book was A Biographical Dictionary of Contributors to the Natural History of the Free State and Lesotho.
Prof Moffett was honoured with a Lifetime Researcher Award during the Academic and Research Awards on the Qwaqwa Campus in November.