Seasoned media personality and Crown Gospel Music Awards founder Zanele Mbokazi has passed away. Here, she spoke to us about her faith, her journey as an author and more.
She’s affectionately known as MaZet-Zet to the loyal listeners of her praise and worship Sunday morning segment Eshilo.
Zanele Mbokazi-Nkambule has been a prominent figure in the media and entrepreneurship space throughout her more than two-decade-long career.
Hailing from the streets of Thornwood and KwaNdengezi, KwaZulu-Natal, Zanele’s determination led her to excel in the field of marketing and public relations before claiming her spot on one of the biggest radio stations in South Africa, Ukhozi FM, from 1995 to 1999 and back again in 2023.
“I was born to speak. I was born to use my voice and my pen. Those are the two things. My voice and my pen are my biggest weapons,” Zanele says as she sits down with TRUELOVE for an exclusive in-studio interview.
While her radio stints make her most renowned for her soothing voice and powerful demeanour, it’s her journey as a life and business coach, founder of the Crown Gospel Music Awards and sharing her life advice and experiences through four published novels that cements her ambition in the many industries she’s in.
“To have what I’ve never had, I have to do what I’ve never done.” No wiser words have been spoken by Zanele that wholeheartedly describe her life’s trajectory.
Dressed in a luxuriously pink asymmetrical gown so reminiscent of Zanele’s appeal, she graces us with her presence as she dives into everything from her ministry and faith to her family life and future projects.Zanele is an open book as she shares with us how she upholds her faith.
“My family, my parents did not have much. What they taught us and what they left me with as their legacy and ifa lami (my inheritance) was their words and their words were words of faith. My dad used to say to me, look at me, and say Jeremiah 17 … ‘Blessed is the man whose trust and hope is in the Lord. And cursed is the man whose trust and hope is in other people. So that sums up my upbringing’.
“My faith, when I was very young, I literally grew up in church. And I started preaching when I was, you know, just after varsity. I didn’t even know what I was doing. Little did I know that I was being prepared for my role as a bishop’s wife.”
Zanele’s childhood and her continuous journey in faith goes hand-in-hand with her life coaching business, which she has been running for the past nine years.
“I call myself a turnaround coach because that’s exactly what I work on. I always want results. I’m very much results driven. And when I’m coaching somebody, it is personal development, whether it’s starting a business – I’ve been an entrepreneur for 22 years.
“It’s always centred around results because I want to make sure that there is a turnaround. Ultimately, those who know me well, they call me a midwife of dreams. And that is what I aim to do so that ultimately, I help people to give birth to their dreams fearlessly,” she shares.
While her approach to life is centred on her faith, Zanele knows that not all of her clients will subscribe to a higher power.
“Look, faith is one thing and faith is everything to me, my faith. However, we live in a society where people are free to believe in literally anything. So, I do get a lot of people, clients from outside [South Africa]. Philippines. I don’t know why I’ve got a lot of clients from Philippines. India and then mainly Namibia, Botswana, Nigeria – quite a lot. So, I get a lot of different people. And although faith is everything to me but my coaching is not necessarily faith based,” she says.