Zola 7 opens up on his experience being in a coma

Popular South African musician, Zola 7, real name Bonginkosi Dlamini recalled his experience being in a coma in early March.

When promoting the uMdlwembe documentary on Metro FM’s afternoon drive, the Kwaito star went down memory lane speaking about his journey since his doctor told him he had a 12-year-old body mass.

“It is because of the millions of prayers. People who called, came to my gate. People were leaving candles at my gate. I thought I’d get a second chance. You feel no pain, even if you were to pinch me, I feel nothing. At that time, I was mostly having a conversation with my grandmother who died in 1993. Then she says, ‘no, you need to go back’,” he said.

“So I woke up, hearing the nurses and smelling I was in hospital. Now I’m back this side, so there’s a reason I’m here.”

The star made headlines on various occasions this year with fans worried about his well-being.

It started in March 2022 when Nota took to his Twitter timeline saying Zola 7 was “not doing well nor looking good” and many people had stopped checking on him.

Zola 7’s wife, popularly known as Siki Kunene, at the time spoke to the publication dismissing the report, saying Nota’s comments were misleading as he was fine.

“All those things he said are utter rubbish. He’s just trying to create hype over nothing. The truth is Bonginkosi is fine. He’s got epilepsy. He is taking chronic medication for it,” she said.

But it did not take too long after that for Zola 7 to shoot up the trends list with many flooding the timeline with concerns for his wellbeing, leading the veteran TV presenter and musician to take to Facebook and accept financial assistance by sharing his banking details.

“I’ve received hundreds of texts asking for my banking details. I see I’m trending on Twitter and plenty of people are offering financial assistance as gratitude. I’ve never expected anything in return for the help I’ve given people in need, but this is truly humbling.”

Government’s plan to help Zola 7 stopped and here’s why

Gauteng MEC for finance and e-government Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko has halted her campaign to assist veteran musician Bonginkosi Dlamini, popularly known as Zola 7, after his family asked her to stop the campaign.

Nkomo-Ralehoko’s bid to assist Zola 7 was halted after the musician’s wife allegedly urged him to go to rehab. The Gauteng MEC also pleaded with members of the public to encourage Zola 7 to go to rehab. It is unclear why the MEC and the superstar’s wife want him to go to rehab.

“The good thing is the wife was saying that Zola wants to go to rehab, so I want people like yourself to convince Zola that he must go to rehab and be better so that he can go out and get these opportunities because indeed we can’t take him among the children whilst we know that he is not fine,” said Nkomo-Ralehoko in a clip seen by a local publication.

Nkomo-Ralehoko met Zola 7 in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni, as part of her Heart 2 Heart Dialogue programme last month. The meeting was so the veteran musician could motivate the youth as soon as he was well.

A local publication reports that the future of the partnership between Nkomo-Ralehoko and the musician is uncertain.

“Zola 7’s family has not yet decided whether he should go to rehab. This was informed by many other things including the argument over which banking details the public should use to help him financially. That is why the MEC decided to wait until their differences have been resolved,” said a source to the publication.

Nkomo-Ralehoko’s spokesperson, Nhlanhla Cebekhulu, also confirmed the MEC halted her campaign to help Zola 7.

“The family has asked the MEC to give them privacy to deal with the matter, so she will not make any comment at this stage,” said Cebekhulu according to the publication.

Happy birthday to Zola 7 as he turns 44

Kwaito musician, poet, actor and presenter, Zola 7, aka Bonginkosi Dlamini, celebrates his 44th birthday today. There’s some good he’s been known for, like helping young South Africans realize their dreams by giving out bursaries. He’s more than just a musician, but a philanthropist as well. Remember how many people he helped when he still had his Zola 7 show

#zola7 pic.twitter.com/ykGY1J0ZFi

— Bonginkosi Dlamini (@jamazola7) November 21, 2020

However, it seems that has all changed. He has been surrounded by multiple scandals and his name has been tainted in the industry. Bad news always follows him and has kept him in the press for all the wrong reasons. Here’s a look at the 5 times Zola 7 made it into the daily headlines.

She left no stone unturned.

There was no clear reason why Sibongile Nkabinde, ex-wife of defunct Kwaito star Bonginkosi “Zola 7” Dlamini decided to come forward about her marriage with Zola 7. However, it seems she had quite the story to tell.

“I was married to that man for 16 years and tolerated all his misdeeds” began Nkabinde, before adding “he married me and dumped me in his mother’s house in Dobsonville, Soweto. He then went to stay in Melville, Jozi, and I’d only visit him just for sex on weekends – sometimes once a month.”

This was just the tip of the iceberg.
South African media personality, Unathi Nkayi, once again took to her Instagram page to share her undeniable love for her long-time friend and former duet partner, Zola 7.

The pair, who both featured on the classic song, Sana Lwami, have sparked romance rumors for years, however, they have both revealed that nothing had ever happened between them.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Unathi.Africa (@unathi.co)

In the video, Zola admits he had a crush on Unathi and Unathi says she also had a crush on him but didn’t act on it.

Are you buying this story?

In perhaps his most candid interview yet, Zola shared some of his lowest moments and he spoke openly about his alleged disappearance from the industry and about being broke.

Zola explained: “There was a time when I was sitting on the sofa with an accountant and my lawyer and everything was on point. But the state took R650 000 away from me…”

This was the most explicit and candid we had ever seen Zola. Do you think he should have forgiven the people who wronged him?

Zola 7 just survived a horrific car accident in January while driving in Meadowlands, Soweto. Zola’s car crashed into a shop and damaged the concrete tables and chairs, while he endured injuries to his neck and back.

There were rumors that the Kwaito star was drinking and driving, but according to Zola 7, he actually suffered an epileptic seizure.

The spaza shop owners, who called an ambulance to assist were upset that Zola 7 didn’t honor his word to repair all the damages.

Cassper Nyovest treated his fans to some footage that was taken along the journey of the release of his 5th studio album. It took his fans behind the scenes of making his chart-topping single ‘Bonginkosi’ which featured Zola 7.

Not only is the single named after Zola 7 whose real name is Bonginkosi, but in the video, fans learned that the song was not written beforehand. It was a ‘spur of the moment thing’ after Zola 7 inspired Cassper to sing from the heart.