Life time. Is it not a real realm to be learnt, loved, inhabited,
reared and irradiated into a lovable legacy, an indelible talent
that is tuneful, impactful and meaningful in the lives of others?
With her soulful vocal sounds and an acoustic guitar,
she hypnotized, swayed and seized our sore cores,
her harmonies breezed ease into the broken hearts.
I richly recall how her sensational Loliwe raged and rioted
like an anthem in 2011, our staffroom in SA was not spared;
then years later in Angola , my Portuguese colleagues
would confess being her huge fans. Talk of impact.
Yet gone at just 36, Bulelwa Mkutukana,
an award-winning singer and songwriter, whose stage
name was Zahara, embodied a sheer fabulous flair.
Her music lives on. In her words, ‘Nothing really
bothers me. I have been criticized, hurt and labeled
all sorts of things but I continue to stand firm
because I know my purpose
– to heal people through
music. That makes me sleep at night’.
Sleep well, skilful songstress sister.
