* Zahara and her guitar made an incredible and lasting impact in South African music
* A beacon of hope, a gift, and a blessing to us and countless people around the world
By Wycliffe Muia, BBC News
Award-winning South African Afro-pop singer, Zahara (real name Bulelwa Mkutukana) — who had a huge fan base across Africa — told a local radio an interview last year that her music was not for recognition but to bring comfort to broken souls that need healing.
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The songstress, who won fame in 2011 with her album Loliwe that was massively loved across Africa, had been in hospital, reportedly with liver complications and died on Monday night — to the grief of her music lovers across the continent.
Following her popularity that earned her the status of a national icon, the South African government had been assisting her family “for some time”, as disclosed by Culture Minister Zizi Kodwa.
“Zahara and her guitar made an incredible and lasting impact in South African music,” Kodwa posted on X, formerly Twitter.
In 2019, Zahara opened up about her battle with alcohol addiction and last month, the family confirmed the musician had been admitted to hospital and called on South Africans to keep her in their prayers.
She passed away in a Johannesburg hospital at the age of 36 and in a statement posted on Zahara’s Instagram account, her family said: “She was a pure light, and an even purer heart, in this world. A beacon of hope, a gift, and a blessing to us and countless people around the world.”
Fans have been grieving and sharing fond memories of her on social media: “She left us with such beautiful music,” one X user posted.
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Zahara, who released five albums, won dozens of awards both local and international and in 2020, she was named in the BBC’s 100 Women list.
The songwriter also used her platform to speak out about violence against women in South Africa, something she revealed had happened to her.
Born in 1987, Zahara was a self-taught guitarist who gained recognition with her debut album, Loliwe, in 2011, which won the Album of the Year at South Africa’s Music Awards.
The singer performed the album title track for Nelson Mandela at his home before he died in 2013, and also wrote a tribute song in a blend of Xhosa and English.
She grew up listening to songs her mother played on the radio and discovered her love of singing when she became the lead singer of her Sunday school choir at 6. She claimed not to have received any formal musical training.
“There’s a difference between a gift and a talent. I’m gifted, not talented”, said Zahara in an interview with Sportskeed.com in 2021.
The singer was known for her unique voice and she was often compared with the likes of Tracy Chapman and India and she is well-known in the African music industry for her notable collaborations with South Africa’s singing group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo; musician, Robbie Malinga and Nigerian singer, 2Baba.
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Her last recent album, Nqaba Yam was released in 2021 and commenting on her music, Zahara said in an interview in 2022: “I write about my life. If you want to know mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally where I’m at, where I’m centered, go get my albums.”
In 2019, her manager, Oyama Dyosiba disclosed that Zahara’s struggles with alcoholism had contributed to her liver disease and the singer’s sister, Nomonde, in the same year, informed that doctors said if she continued drinking, she was going to die.
In an interview with Times Live also in 2019, Zahara candidly spoke about turning to alcohol as a coping mechanism following the loss of her brother. She admitted drinking not for joy but to numb her pain, citing fear as a barrier to seeking help.
In his tribute to Zahara on Facebook, journalist Herbert Chiyambi Chandilanga headlined it as ‘Running After Zahara’s Train’, saying: “One day, more than a decade ago, in the sweet past of newsroom routine, Sam Banda Jnr, Zahara and I, casually came together to stare into some camera lenses for a moment which can never be recreated.
Chandilanga (left) and Sam Banda Jnr with Zahara when she visited Malawi
“As journalists, Sam and I were covering her arrival for a gig. Straight from her plane, she warmed up to our inquisitive minds and gave us fodder for our newspaper pages.
“On the day of her do, in the days of her prime, she blessed Malawi with an energetic appearance — a burst of energy, her strumming shattering expectations.
“Yesterday was then a sad moment to hear of Zahara’s passing — a rare occurrence of a female musician comfortable on an instrument, now gone, forever, lost to a cold sunset.
“A gloomy moment for music? Yes! Like a broken stage, a shattered fretboard. Her departure now strums sad chords in our memories. A gloomy moment you say? No! Just a time to play her tunes and be reminded of life’s grip on our breath.
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“Her road and stages to yesterday are the very encounters that prove we are human and can run into abysses so deep and dark. I judge her by the light she shared, the warmth she exuded, her witty and soulful verses that gave (will give) us meaning and answers to life’s vexing situations and boiling questions.
“An end to a song. A low-pitched verse fading into the quietness of her absence. Her train came. Her train has left.
‘Uloliwe’ — she sings as she makes off the stage, in her wooden train, storming into the thick forests of rest and privacy. Rest, Zahara, rest!”
On his part, Sam Banda Jnr. described Zahara as “such a talented and humble soul”, adding that his first encounter with her was at Cape Town Jazz Festival in South Africa.
“I must admit, her name never even rang a bell. Cape Town Jazz Festival is huge and on this particular day, I went there not to watch Zahara but there were a couple of top acts I was interested in and it included jazz maestro Bra Hugh Masekela.
“But it turned out that I was early for Bra Hugh’s set, he was to come later. And so as I waited, a lady in short hair then, was introduced, Zahara was her name and armed with her guitar, she moved souls with her music.
“Later her music occupied the space, it was all over with ‘Loliwe’ more like a national anthem.
Advertising agency, FD Communications’ Frank Phiri welcoming Zahara on behalf of Standard Bank during her tour of Malawi in 2012, at the peak of her ‘Loliwe’ fame
“Standard Bank decided to engage her for Joy of Jazz concert where she had time sharing the stage with Mte Wambali Mkandawire at BICC in Lilongwe in 2012 and in 2013 she was back in Malawi and this time courtesy of Mango Entertainment and she even had time to interact with learners at Blantyre Girls Primary School.
“She loved her guitar — her guitar gave her the freedom to express herself. Her voice was super good and unique and no wonder she inspired many artists.
“Kanyimbo ka ‘Destiny’ kaja anakazinga (the track ‘Destiny is simply exceptional — it is a powerful song that speaks to the heart”.—Additional reporting by Duncan Mlanjira, Maravi Express
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