Provocative, a shock jock or maybe even attention seeker.
She's been called many names.
Individuals who wear their sexuality like a badge of honour, unapologetic in their approach to fame and every time they emerge or make an appearance, hearts race and the heat turns up.
This could apply to a myriad of celebrities, Somizi Mhlongo comes to mind or even Uncle Waffles, characters that have pushed the envelope with their aesthetic and attitudes in a society as conservative as that of South Africa.
There is arguably one person who rules the roost when it comes to shocking and getting tongues wagging, the intriguing Zodwa Wabantu.
Read more | Manaka Ranaka and Zodwa Wabantu to box in an event aimed at empowering women in the sport
Zodwa has decided to broaden her brand to include a funeral home.
"I have a passion to assist the community I live in with accessible alternatives to bury their loved ones," Zodwa says.
Zwide Unique Funerals is this socialite and dancers’ latest conquest, and it may be out of left field as fans of hers would hardly associate the business of death with her, but she is fully invested and proud of this latest achievement.
“It took a year from registration to inception,” says the 38-year-old master of entertainment.
“The move to the funeral business as indicated was to assist the immediate communities to access a local dependable company. The most important part of this business is passion and you developing a lifestyle,” Zodwa explains.
Read more | Four celebrities who embraced their ancestral gifts this year
The native of Soweto has long since had her heart on uplifting the community that raised her and this move is very much in line with that approach.
Servicing the communities that are hidden from the forefront of concern are something she will look to focus heavily on with her Zwide Unique Funerals business.
Her services will aid, “impoverished communities doing things like aiding clients who lapse on their policies. We are also helping out undocumented individuals and families with disputes.”
You might think she has aimed at one boutique offering but she has hit the ground running and already has six branches in operation. There are currently two branches both in Soweto in Zola Meadowlands, two branches in Orange Farm, one in Katlehong and another in Newcastle, Kwa-Zulu Natal with a staff of 22 people working at all of these.
This renaissance woman who was not so long ago in a boxing bout with Manaka Ranaka and a little while before then exploring her ancestral calling, boasts about the services her business offers clients, “assistance with registration. burial plans, storage of bodies, collection of the deceased, reparations of deceased, groceries and benefits, hearses, and family cars as well as the cemetery set-up”.
Her business ideals are simple and in line with anyone looking to maximise their bottom line.
“Expansion and replication of the company to other Provinces while we continue improving on the feedback and sparking innovation.”
She has her mind trained on this new development, but she did take the time to address those who might be bothered by her performances and antics in the media.
“I feel nothing as long the venue is packed my people came to have fun with me,” she calmly intimates.
“Those who comment on social media is because they were not there, they just see pictures and videos but us who are there, we are having fun,” she adds with an almost aggressive confidence.
