Natasha Thahane reveals Government contributed to my R1 Million to her tuition fees

Natasha Thahane dropped a bombshell revelation that Baleka Mbete used her influence to get her funding towards her tuition fees, which altogether came to more than R1 million. Thahane is the granddaughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. At the time, Mbete was the Speaker of Parliament and the African National Congress (ANC) chairperson. Thahane quit from her role as Amu on the hit Mzansi Magic soapie The Queen to further her studies in 2017 and enrolled for a one-year course at the New York Film Academy. She passed with flying colours and now part of an elite group of NYFA alumni including Damon Wayans, Insecure creator Issa Rae and the late Glee star Naya Rivera.

Natasha Thahane told MacG that after approaching Baleka Mbete about needing help for her astronimical tuition fees, she (Mbete) then spoke to Department of Arts and Culture, which was able to contribute to the R1 million. Thahane doesn’t disclose exactly how much she received from the government, unfortunately. “I asked Mam’ Baleka (Mbete) and was like, ‘Mama, I need to go back to school. I’ve been accepted… I don’t know what I’m going to do, can I have funds? Please arrange something for me.’ She managed to speak to (the department) Arts and Culture and they were able to help me,” she said on the podcast. Natasha Thahane says she was afraid of asking Mbete for the entire R1 million and only her first semester was covered. So she still needed funds for her second semester and asked her grandmother, who used her retirement money to help her finish the course.

WATCH VIDEO: