Oprah to speak at Is’thunzi Sabafazi

US media mogul Oprah Winfrey, pictured, is coming to SA to address the Is’thunzi Sabafazi event on November 29, the Nelson Mandela Foundation said on Tuesday.

The foundation spokesperson Luzuko Koti said the event was part of the centenary and commemoration of the fifth anniversary of Mandela’s passing.

“At the first event, titled Is’thunzi Sabafazi, media personality Oprah Winfrey will deliver a keynote address,” Koti said.

“This will be followed by a conversation with Zoleka Mandela and Josina Z. Machel on how we mobilise toward a caring and just society that purposely centres the equality, safety, and freedom of women. This event will take place at the University of Johannesburg’s Soweto campus on November 29.

“On December 5, award-winning Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie will commemorate the passing of Nelson Mandela in a keynote address on the power of memory and public imagination in their local, continental, and global manifestations,” Koti added.

“This event will take place at the University of South Africa [in Pretoria].”

TV personality Winfrey, 64, is also set to be one of the hosts of the Global Citizen Festival in Johannesburg on December 2.

Koti said these public discussions take place at a “critical moment in SA when all South Africans in their private and public lives are being challenged to take responsibility and strive towards a social, political, and economic future sustained by strong institutions, trustworthy, and accountable leadership”. – Bathandwa Malingo