Bereaved friends and family of songbird Zahara gathered to bid her farewell at Rhema Bible Church in Randburg on 14 December 2023.
Real name Bulelwa Mkutukana, Zahara’s contribution to the music industry has impacted many. Her songs transcended age and borders, releasing hot songs such as Loliwe, Ndize and more that put her name on the map.
Attendees of her memorial service were welcomed by Zahara’s hit songs playing in the background as they came to pay their last respect for the late singer before her burial on 23 December in East London in the Eastern Cape.
Her with beloved guitar displayed in the centre of the stage at the service, people came in numbers to bid her farewell, including big names in the music industry like Unathi, Ringo Madlingozi and her close friend and fellow singer Vusi Nova. While Unathi Nkayi was the programme director at the service.
Bulelwa’s brother Simphiwe Mkutukana says only time will heal them as a family.
“As a family now, there is nothing that makes sense [now] but whatever that we are doing, the words of wisdom that we have shared to us thus far, we really need them, we appreciate,” Simphiwe says.
The musician died on 11 December 2023 after she was hospitalised briefly.
Zahara and her fiancé, Mpho Xaba, were readying themselves to tie the knot before her health deteriorated. Holding back tears, he recalled their life together.
“I was part of a very human and [the] real side of her. I know a lot of things. I know her mind, emotions, naked frailties, I know everything [and] we used to communicate as part of our intimacy; I used to write her very long messages. Giving her that constant reassurance, confidence, love, [and] hope," he says.
The pair got engaged in March 2023 but rather than preparing for a wedding, Mpho is now preparing to bury his partner.
READ MORE | IN HER OWN WORDS | Zahara on her rise to stardom - ‘I never want to forget where I come from’
The distraught fiancé wrote a heartfelt letter to the deceased, which he read at the memorial service, saying he’ll keep searching for her.
“The last love letter that I wrote. To my dearly departed love. Words fail me. The void you have imposed on me has immeasurable depth. What brood, skepticism and questions, as well as iniquity. To those who felt like they held a high moral ground to the institution of love. Inadvertently led to the inception of a love so strong of adoration, affection, fondness, attachment, passion, infatuation, care, devotion and all things warm and fuzzy.
“I will forever cherish all the moments I've got to spend with you. When we first met, you took me out of a deep, dark place and you restored my faith in love again. You never judged me harshly, but rather cautioned and counseled me. I will search for you through one thousand worlds and ten thousand lifetimes until I find you,” the letter read.
Describing his last moments as "a hellish three weeks", Zahara's fiancé Mpho Xaba shares the love story of how they met. #RIPZahara pic.twitter.com/sEL4a71WKR
— TRUELOVE Magazine (@TrueLoveMag) December 14, 2023
Friends gathered to bid farewell to the star, reiterating that they failed her. Media personality Somizi Mhlongo gave tribute to his late friend, who he met before the fame.
“We made the effort [to come to the memorial service] because she's gone and not because we didn't know what she was going through even before she went to hospital,” he says.
“I met her before she recorded an album. I met her, she was busking at a restaurant in East London, and she always liked to tell the story [that] I was the first person to give her a paper note in her basket and I had a stash of 20 rands and the only part I wanted [a certain part of the song] of Loliwe and [told her to play it on loop].
“And that song was a hit to me before she even recorded it and I guess that's the song that they discovered her with. And I knew from that time, even that day I said if I was a record executive, I would take this girl but then, [with] fate it happened. She became one of the biggest superstars that we have,” he says.
Somizi says he has failed Zahara, and that people need to be more considerate of people’s feelings.
“As friends, we have failed her and we owe her an apology. And I'm one of the people that owes her an apology. There was a time I was hosting the South African Music Awards and I made a joke about her drinking and stuff - and only [years] later, you realise what you say to people [and] how you make people feel is very important and I learned my lesson because I took it for granted as a joke and I realised later that I've hurt her. And luckily, we had time on earth to reconcile and become friends again.
“May your soul rest in peace. Please forgive us and may your soul keep thriving and thriving wherever you are. Your dreams have not ended, they've just ended on earth, but wherever you are, Zahara, please keep shining and forgive us”.
