Zahara’s tragic and untimely passing marks another dark day in the South African entertainment industry. It’s also a reminder of all the beautiful, talented female artists whose lights were prematurely snuffed out.
On Monday, 11 December, it was announced that the singer had died after a long battle with liver complications. She was only 35 years old.
RIP ZAHARA
According to Sunday World, Zahara died on Monday evening at a private Johannesburg hospital. She was surrounded by her close family and fiancé Mpho Xaba.
The SAMA-winning artist had a long struggle with her health. In 2019, she was diagnosed with liver failure and spent a month in hospital. In a 2020 interview on the TV show Dinner With Somizi, the star admitted to previously abusing alcohol.
She said: “I had to deal with what led me to drink because the problem was not the alcohol. The problem was what led me to drink.”
ALSO READ: Modern-day Brenda Fassie? Uncanny similarities between Zahara and ‘MaBrrr’
During the interview, she also vowed that she was a “changed person” and “not a prisoner to alcohol.”
6 SA FEMALE STARS WHO DIED BEFORE 40
Like Zahara, here are more talented SA singers who unexpectedly died…
Lebo Mathosa
In 2006, Lebo Mathosa died after sustaining extensive injuries in a car crash on the N3 near East Rand.
The Boom Shaka singer was reportedly thrown out of her Toyota Prado when the driver lost control and crashed into a tree. Lebo – who was 29 years old – was not wearing a seatbelt.
ALSO READ: ‘May her soul haunt you’: Zahara fans call for DJ Sbu boycott
TK Mhinga
Known as South Africa’s “Black Butterfly,” the songbird was found dead in a Bryanston hotel in 2006.
According to Mail & Guardian, she died from a suspected overdose. She was 27 years old.
ALSO READ: Mpho Xaba: Who is late singer Zahara’s fiancé?
Brenda Fassie
Brenda Fassie was just 39 years old when she died from an alleged drug overdose in 2004.
According to BBC, she had a cocaine addiction and had been in rehab over 30 times.
Mshoza
In 2020, child star Mshoza died from complications of diabetes. According to her family, she had been treating the illness, which she was diagnosed with in her twenties.
At her passing, she was 37 years old.
Lulu Dikana
Lulu – the older sister of Zonke Dikana – died after a short illness in 2014.
The jazz singer was 35 years old.
ALSO READ: Who was Zahara? Five things to know about late musician
Nichume
In 2019, house music vocalist Nichume Siwundla allegedly threw herself off an Edenvale apartment, reported Sowetan.
The breakout star was just 27 years old.
ALSO READ: RIP ZAHARA: Fans appeal to Govt for Provincial Funeral
