Nelisiwe Sibiya Nominated for Best Actress at 2025 Simon Sabela Awards, SA Reacts: "Too Soon"

• Talented actress Nelisiwe Sibiya has been recognised at the 12th annual Simon Sabela Awards for her role in the Mzansi Magic show iThonga
• Sibiya is competing with talented actress Nombulelo Mhlongo, her co-star on Scandal!, as well as Nqobile Magwaza
• Sibiya's recognition sparked mixed reactions, with many netizens expressing both surprise and disapproval

Halala! Talented actress Nelisiwe Sibiya is winning, and we are here for it! The actress is nominated for the 2025 edition of the Simon Sabela Awards.

Nelisiwe Sibiya, who recently joined long-running etv telenovela Scandal! as Sanda, is nominated for her role in another production.

Nelisiwe Sibiya nominated for Best Actress at Simon Sabela Awards

Entertainment commentator Jabulani Macdonald announced on his X account on Wednesday, 11 June 2025, that Nelisiwe Sibiya is nominated in the Best Actress on TV category for her role as Zamahlobo Ntanzi in iThonga at the Simon Sabela Awards. The post read:

“Nelisiwe Sibiya has been nominated for Best Actress on TV for her role in ‘iThonga’ at the Simon Sabela Awards.”

The 2025 Simon Sabela Awards will be held under the theme, Africa’s Champions of Storytelling: From Piers to Pages. Sibiya’s nomination is iThonga’s first recognition at the Simon Sabela Awards. She will be battling for the award against Nombulelo Mhlongo, who was nominated for her character Madlomo on Scandal! while Nqobile Magwaza is nominated for her role as Philile on the recently cancelled Smoke & Mirrors.

Kwenzo Ngcobo, who plays Nombulelo Mhlongo's on-screen husband on etv's Scandal! , also bagged a nomination at the Simon Mabhunu Sabela Awards for Best Actor.

Netizens react to Nelisiwe Sibiya's Simon Sabela Awards nomination

In the comments section under Jabu Macdonald’s post announcing Nelisiwe Sibiya’s nomination, many netizens expressed mixed reactions. While others celebrated Nelisiwe’s nomination, others felt she didn’t deserve to be nominated for her role on iThonga as the series had just recently started airing.

Here are some of the reactions:

@Ndo_CM suggested:

“Too soon. I hope KB was also nominated for her role as Wendy on Genesis.”

@mykhails said:

“That show has been on air for two minutes mos 🤷🏿‍♂️”

@IamDineo disagreed:

“Naaaaaaa maybe they should say Scandal naaaaaaaaaa.”

@SemakalengMokh6 responded:

“So soon, bathong? We are still trying to know who is who.”

@Manzezulu03 argued:

“Soze! Even Faith does a better job than her on that show…ithengiwe 🤞🏽”

@ZunguThandanan3 suggested:

“They should've nominated Nokwanda🙄”

@mtolo_gqem asked:

"Two minutes back on our screens and she is nominated already. Kanjani?"

Uthando Nesthembu nominated for Best TV Production

Meanwhile, Briefly News reported that popular reality TV show Uthando Nesthembu bagged a nomination at the 2025 Simon Mabhunu Sabela Awards.

The famous show was recognised in the Best TV Production category for its eighth season, and fans believed the nod was well-deserved.

On social media, South Africans congratulated the Mselekus on their nomination and hope they bring home the award. The show is competing with The Real Housewives of Durban and Icala.

Source: Briefly News