Older, Wiser, Happier

Zakes Bantwini opens up about the lessons he’s learnt, being a better dad and how he prayed for a wife like Nandi

- Qhama Dayile

IT WAS in the works for four years, so you’d think he’d be burning to release it. But something more important came along – a little bundle of joy who has stolen the singer’s heart.

And this time around the father of four didn’t want to miss a single milestone, so he put his music on hold to be there for his newborn baby boy.

“I had my first child, Sithombe, who is now 21 years old, when I was 15, followed by my 12-year-old daughter, Wakhiwe, and then my 7-year-old, Lisakhanya,” Zakes Bantwini tells us.

“I was young. Although I play my part as a dad and I’m there for them, I never really witnessed them walk for the first time, because of the mistakes I made while growing up.”

The 36-year-old, who surprised fans when he secretly wed media darling Nandi Madida last year, plans to do things differently this time around. “After we had Shaka [his six-month-old son with Nandi] I wanted to see him grow, so we moved my album release date to 23 June 2017,” he says of his latest offering, Love, Light & Music 2.

The popular but private singer plans to launch the album, which features the likes of Hugh Masekela, DJ Maphorisa, Nana Atta and Tellaman, in his hometown of KwaMashu in KwaZulu-Natal. But first, he needed to bond with Shaka.

“I don’t get to see my other kids every day like I do with Shaka,” says Zakes, who has joined forces with Unicef South Africa to launch the super Dad's campaign for Father’s Day, which celebrates the role that fathers play in early childhood development. “My wish is that when people think of having children, they think of getting married first for the sake of the kids.”

Zakes knows the challenges of growing up with an absent father. His father had paid lobolo, but because he worked outside Durban the family only saw him once a month.