Award-winning South African Afro-pop singer Bulelwa Mkutukana, popularly known as Zahara, has died,
the country’s culture minister has said.

She had been in hospital, reportedly with liver complications, and the government had been assisting
the family “for some time”, Culture Minister Zizi Kodwa said.
Last month, the family confirmed the musician had been admitted to hospital and called on South
Africans to keep her in their prayers.
It was reported that she passed away on Monday night in a Johannesburg hospital at the age of 36.
In a statement posted on Zahara’s Instagram account, her family said: “She was a pure light, and an even
purer heart, in this world. A beacon of hope, a gift, and a blessing to us and countless people around the
world.”