Basetsana Kumalo turned 50 years old in style during a three-day soiree in Cape Town this past weekend with family and friends.

A GOOD, GOOD FRIDAY

Her birthday came just days after a victorious court judgment on the defamation case between her and controversial author, Jackie Phamotse who was sentenced to two years of house arrest, a fine of R30 000 in total or imprisonment, 16 hours a month of community service until her sentence is done. She is also required to check in with a social worker for assessment and take up a life skills programme. She is to refrain from alcohol and narcotics.

THE CELEBRATION

The three-day celebration was attended by family and close friends, Lupi Ngcayisa, Josina Abiathar Muthemba Machel, Nandi Madida, and Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, to name a few. The celebration started with a thanksgiving, gratitude gala dinner themed Purple, then Saturday, a Gratitude gala dinner themed 'Best Of Couture' and on Sunday a thanksgiving picnic themed 'Floaty and Fun Pastel.'

CHILDHOOD

Basetsana recalled how her family made sacrifices for her life. "I was born into the Makgalemele family to my dearly departed parents Ntate Phillip and Nomazizi Makgalemele, their third daughter after Aus' Lerato and Maniko (Johanna) my younger brother who is the last born of the family Mojalefa was born two years after me," Basetsana wrote in a social media post. "I was raised in a loving home where Christian values were instilled in us from a very young age. My father was a bus driver, and my mother was a teacher, out of their 8-5 jobs, they were entrepreneurs, formidable and ahead of their time. I gleaned and learned to be an entrepreneur from my parent's home. My frame of reference is seeing them work exceptionally hard to put food on the table, clothes on our backs, shoes on our feet, and a roof over our heads. My father used to say, 'Baby girl, hard work has never killed anybody.' The fundamental lessons I have learned from my parents have stood me in good stead throughout my life. I am the woman that I am today because of their tutelage and teachings," she added.

Basetsana added that when she came into the public life thirty years ago, she was embraced by South Africans. "A new democracy, a new dispensation, a new dawn, a new country. Throughout all these years I have experienced a love of a nation in the most beautiful way. The zeitgeist of winning Miss South Africa in 1994 and being part of the first democratic elections was a poignant moment for me. I couldn't have scripted it myself even if I had tried," she said. "Over the years, I have been supremely blessed with an incredible family, my husband and my children. What joy they bring to my life. I am one highly favoured woman," she added. "On this Jubilee year, marking half a century, I thank the Lord who has carried me through the years. I am who I am because greater is He that is in me than the one that is in the world. My deepest and profound gratitude to each and every one of you who have loved and supported my journey of life. May goodness, mercy, and kindness you have bestowed upon me be returned to you a hundredfold."