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South African pop singer Zahara, whose high-pitched voice and vibe earned her many platinum-selling songs in her home country, has died at the age of 35.
South Africa’s minister of sports, arts and culture, Zizi Kodwa, announced his death, saying: “My deepest condolences to the Mkutukana family and the South African music industry. The Government has been in the family for a long time. Zahara and her guitar made an incredible and lasting impact on South African music.
Last month, his manager, Oyama Dyosiba, confirmed that he had been hospitalized “after complaints of physical pain”.
He was diagnosed with liver disease after having problems with alcohol, Dyosiba confirmed in 2019. His brother Nomonde said that year doctors told him, “if you (Zahara) continues to drink, he will die… We are sure that there is someone around him to watch over him so that he does not drink again” .
Born to Buelwa Mkutukana in 1987, Zahara learned the guitar and released in 2011 with her debut album, Loliwe, a bestseller that also won album of the year at the South African music awards.
He performed the title for Nelson Mandela at his home before his death in 2013, and later wrote a tribute song with the words: “Hero of heroes / There is no one like him.” That song, like the rest of his film, was sung in a combination of Xhosa and English.
Her second album, Phendula, was released in collaboration with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, while the country follow-up, Country Girl, went triple platinum. He signed with a major label, Warner Music, for his fourth album, Mgodi, after a dispute with former label TS Records.
He also argued against violence against women, which he described in 2020 as an “epidemic” in South Africa. He said he was a survivor of an attack by a man who sprayed him in his car.
“(Men) feel like they have rights to women, like women are theirs,” he told the BBC. “Men in South Africa, all they care about is themselves.”