Zahara’s career has, for years, been marred by allegations of alcohol abuse, but the Eastern-Cape-born star has continuously denied she has a “drinking problem.”
She has, in several interviews, told her fans to focus on her music and not her personal life.
In 2017, Zahara threatened to sue Somizi Mhlongo after he spoke about Zahara and her alleged alcohol problem.
“We are almost at the end of the show, and there’s an amazing after party, free bar…where is Zahara. She’s probably at the bar already,” said Mhlongo at the time.
In December 2018, the musician was also admitted to hospital. Her sister Nomonde said that she needed to stop drinking to improve her health.
“If she continues drinking, she is going to die,” said Nomonde in April 2019, adding that “doctors guaranteed that, if she stopped drinking, her liver might recover”.
Nomonde also said that the family was monitoring the singer to make sure that she did not go back to drinking alcohol.
In 2019, the Mgodi singer – who was also accused of performing under the influence of alcohol – rubbished claims that she was an alcoholic and told the media that she only “drank a little to find happiness”.
For much of 2019, the songstress dominated entertainment headlines for alcohol addiction and dire financial struggles.
Zahara bared her soul about how the pressures of the music industry drove her to alcohol in an episode of Dinner at Somizi.
“The problem wasn’t the drinking; it was what was making me drink,” she said.
Zahara recalled how between 2014 and 2015, she used to cry herself to sleep because of what was happening in her life at the time.
“… I feared that I won’t get air play on radio, appear on TV or get any gig anymore. But I thought it’s not even about that, it’s about the greater picture which is to inspire and give hope …”
She told Mhlongo that her problem was not with alcohol but was instead with the pressure that came with her fame.
“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.”
Drama ensued following the news of Zahara's hospitalization. Sources close to her and her family confirmed that she was admitted due to liver complications, a fact later confirmed by a statement issued by the family. Zahara initially complained of stomach pains after her fiancé, Mpho Xaba, paid lobola for her. When the pain persisted, she was hospitalized and spent approximately two weeks in the medical ward before being transferred to the ICU.
Doctors discovered that her liver had suffered damage. After undergoing delicate tests, Zahara slipped into a coma, and her lungs and kidneys were also reportedly affected. She is survived by her husband-to-be, Xaba, who was set to marry her in 2024, as well as her mother and siblings.
