Zahara, a popular South African singer known for her powerful vocals and bold ballads, passed away at the age of 35. She had achieved great success with multiple platinum-selling albums in her native country.
Zizi Kodwa, the minister of sports, arts, and culture in South Africa, announced the passing of Zahara. He expressed his heartfelt sympathies to the Mkutukana family and the music industry in South Africa. The government has been providing support to the family for a while now. Zahara’s musical talent and her guitar have left a profound and enduring mark on South African music.
In the previous month, Oyama Dyosiba, her manager, verified that she had been admitted to the hospital due to experiencing physical discomfort.
In 2019, Dyosiba confirmed that due to her struggles with alcoholism, she developed liver disease. According to her sister Nomonde, doctors warned that if Zahara continued drinking, she would not survive. To prevent this, they have made sure that someone is always with her to keep an eye on her and prevent her from drinking again.
Zahara, originally named Bulelwa Mkutukana, was born in 1987. She taught herself how to play guitar and rose to fame in 2011 with her first album, Loliwe. The album was both a commercial success and won the South African music award for album of the year.
In 2013, she sang the main song for Nelson Mandela at his residence prior to his passing. Later on, she composed a special song as a tribute with the words: “Hero of heroes / There’s none like him.” This song, along with all her other music, was a mix of Xhosa and English.
Her second album, Phendula, opened with a collaboration with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, while the country-influenced follow-up, Country Girl, went three times platinum. She signed with a major label, Warner Music, for her fourth album, Mgodi, following a dispute with previous label TS Records.
In 2020, she referred to violence against women as a “pandemic” in South Africa and actively fought against it. She also bravely shared her own experience as a survivor of an attack where she was pepper-sprayed by a man in his car.
She stated to the BBC that males believe they have a right to possess females, as if females belong to them. She also noted that in South Africa, men are primarily concerned with their own interests.
Source: theguardian.com
