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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.”
Training symposium draws cardiothoracic surgeons from the continent to the UFS
2015-07-15
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The University of the Free State hosted its annual Hannes Meyer Registrar Symposium at the Bloemfontein campus from 10 to 12 July 2015. This symposium was a collaborative effort by the UFS, the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgeons of South Africa (SCTSSA) and the European Association for Cardiothoracic Surgeons (EACTS). Young surgeons in training (registrars) from all over the continent attended this two and a half day conference.
The delegates include the heads of the departments of, or a senior consultant from, every department of Cardiothoracic Surgery in South Africa as well as two or three registrars and three perfusionists. In addition, delegates from other African countries were welcomed to our shores as well.
Unlike traditional conferencing, this symposium will feature a wet lab session, where surgeons perform a range of heart operations in a laboratory setting, using pig hearts.
The symposium is organised by Prof Francis Smit, (Head of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, UFS) and Prof Tony Linegar, (part-time lecturer-UFS).
“This is a truly remarkable training symposium. It is supported internationally by EACTS, nationally by SCTSSA, and locally by the UFS. It is the largest training symposium in Africa, and Bloemfontein/UFS is proud to host this event on an annual basis, having coordinated and organised this event since 2004.”