By Celani Sikhakhane
Bishop Mpendulo Nkambule, the husband of the late radio personality Zanele LaMbokazi-Nkambule, has denied rumours that his wife was killed by witchcraft performed by her colleagues at the SABC’s Ukhozi FM radio station.
Speaking at her memorial service in Durban on Thursday, he said Zanele died from lung cancer, which was diagnosed in March this year.
“I want to make it clear that my wife was not killed or bewitched by her colleagues. She was loved there, and she truly loved them too. It’s simply not true that they used witchcraft to harm her,” Nkambule said.
However, he shared that Zanele experienced betrayal from some of the people she trusted.
He revealed that some of her friends became jealous when the couple started a church in Durban, leading them to attack her character in the media.
Zanele died on Monday morning at the age of 52 at a private hospital in Umhlanga, KZN.
She founded the Crown Gospel Music Awards, a well-known event that helped boost the province’s economy.
Last year, Zanele moved the awards to Gauteng after signing a seven-year contract with Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s provincial government.
This decision came after she needed help securing funding from the KZN government.
There were also rumours that the IFP, with the help of its president, Velenkosini Hlabisa, provided financial support for the 2022 awards after the KZN government refused to fund them.
Zanele will be laid to rest on Saturday in Marianhill near Dosenhoek, where she was born.
Her funeral service will be held at the Durban ICC.
She is survived by her husband, her sister Kitty Mbokazi-Zulu, three children and three grandchildren.
Pictured above: Bishop Mpendulo Nkambule, husband of the late Zanele LaMbokazi-Nkambule, with a gospel artist who donated a cow at her memorial service.
Source: Sihle Mavuso
