FROM the moment he saw her he knew they were meant to be together – and 23 years later not a thing has changed.
Nkosinathi Hadebe is grateful Zandile Cele feels the same way about him. She has his heart, is mother to his two children and for her he will happily work long hours as a security guard to help put food on the table.
But for years it’s bugged him that there’s one thing he couldn’t give her: a wedding. The R3 000 or so he earns every month doesn’t stretch very far – it’s certainly not enough to pay the lobola the couple’s Zulu custom demands before a marriage can go ahead. And because they weren’t married, their families forbade them from living together.
It was this sad state of affairs that was playing on his mind when Nkosinathi (37) phoned his local radio station, Vuma FM, at the end of May to dedicate four love songs to his partner of more than two decades.
“During my shifts, it can get lonely and I was missing her,” he explains. “She’s the most important person in my life and I just wanted her to know that.”
When radio presenter Jacinta Ngobese asked him to tell her more about Zandile (37) it all came flooding out. They’d been dating since their early teens and desperately wanted to get married, but circumstances kept conspiring to keep them apart.
Jacinta appealed to listeners to help Nkosinathi and Zandile and her words didn’t fall on deaf ears – within a day of his heart-rending phone call, he’d received a flood of donations and kind offers.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
BALLON IN THE BAG
Manchester City midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante says his Ballon d'Or win is a victory for Spanish football
IT WAS ALL A LIE
A new doccie exposes the Grey's Anatomy writer who fabricated her life story
'I WILL NEVER GIVE UP'
After her husband, anticorruption activist Alexei Navalny, was poisoned and murdered by the Kremlin, she became the public face of Russia's opposition. In this candid interview Yulia Navalnaya opens up about life on the run, her perilous family life and why she's continuing her husband's fight to save their country
AGREE TO DISAGREE
Trevor Noah on how his childhood squabbles with his mother inspired his delightful new book
PAUSE THE CLOCK
Researchers have discovered that the ageing process spikes at 44 and 60. Here's what you can do to slow it down
MPOOMY ON TOP
We chat to SA's most popular female podcaster about love, loss and her booming success
MY BROTHER IS NOT TO BLAME
Tinus Drotské says his sibling, ex Bok Nǎka, is the victim in the brawl with a neighbour that landed up in court
MATT THE RECLUSE
A year after his friend's tragic death, the actor continues to shun the spotlight
A LEAP OF FAITH
After her husband tried to kill her by tampering with her parachute she thought she'd never trust a man again-but now she's found love
THEY'RE MY KIDS!
This West Coast woman treats her monkeys as iftheyre humans and animal activists are not happy about it