NAMA 23 edition Nominees Revealed

13 February 2025

By Pronellah Lunga

The National Arts Merits Awards (NAMA) has announced the nominees for its 23rd edition, which will be held on March 1, 2025, at the Hippodrome in Harare.

Chairperson of the NAMA Adjudication Committee, Hope Masike, commented on the submissions received. While acknowledging that many entries met the nomination criteria, she noted that some suffered from poor content packaging in the dance category.

“A lot of creatives submitted works that didn’t fit the specified time frame, which unfortunately led to the automatic disqualification of their submissions,” Hope Masike explained. “In addition, some submissions containing overly explicit, offensive, and insensitive content were rejected.”

Masike also highlighted the impressive number of submissions this year, totaling 2,371. She expressed excitement about the increased participation of younger artists, noting that their prominence in this year’s submissions is a positive sign for the future of the creative industry.

“It’s been an interesting year,” said Hope Masike. “We have seen some really exciting work, especially from younger artists, which is fantastic. Of course, there is always room to learn and grow, but the energy and talent out there is inspiring.”

Several Bulawayo artists have received nominations. These include Madlela Skhobokhobo for Outstanding Social Media Skit, Ernest Ndlovu for Outstanding Artist in the Diaspora, and Sithandazile Dube for Outstanding Poet.

Chelesile Dube has been shortlisted under Outstanding actress nominees, Mbongeni Ignatius for Outstanding Comedian, Khaya Arts for Outstanding Dance Group and Future Dube for Outstanding choreographer.

Ronald Sigeca has been nominated for Outstanding actor, Nobert Makoche for Outstanding director while John Mabuyane has been nominated for Outstanding actor and Outstanding screen production in Inkaba and Ellaine Ncube for Outstanding female dancer, among others.