Pamela enjoys freedom - She’s left her turbulent past behind

It’s nearly three years since Pamela Nomvete’s controversial book, Dancing to the Beat of the Drum: In Search of My Spiritual Home, was released. She detailed her turbulent life in the UK and also shed light on her experience with popular local soapie Generations, where she spent six years playing the viciously captivating character of Ntsiki Lukhele. After struggling to find a good deal with a local publisher, the book is now available in the country. But as I sit down with her at the Joburg Theatre, that’s all in the past. She still has that infectious broad smile, dreadlocks intact, while her voice remains hoarse and powerful. She carries the demeanour and glow of one who’s in a good space in life. This is largely thanks to her trip to Japan earlier this year, where she went for Buddhism training. “It’s what I base my life on. It’s my religion ... it’s my everything,” she said. “It helps in tapping into yourself as a human being. It’s about self-empowerment,” says Nomvete. The glow is also largely thanks to the announcement that she’s a nominee at the Nollywood & African Film Critics’ Awards in the Best Actress in Leading Role in a Diaspora film category, for her part in the film Kingmakers. “I really didn’t expect that, it took me by surprise,” she admits. SOWETANLIVE