Time flies. What can be praised today maybe shunned upon tomorrow. So it’s better to enjoy fame while it last. There is nothing as hurtful as being too used to the spot light, then boom! All of a sudden there are now other people more relevant than you. That’s the sad part celebrities don’t mention about their lives.
We are feeling nostalgic today and we bring you a list of celebrities who were once household names but have faded from people’s memories.
Hulisani Ravele (Cici)
About almost two decades ago, Yotv was nothing but fire, it had the most incredible presenters of all time. The Venda Born Hulisani Ravele was one of its presenters whereby she was known as Cici. Today Hulisani is just a normal radio presenter on Limpopo’s Capricorn Fm and the only time you see about her in social media it’s when they are associating her name with her Ex lover who is now married (psypho)
Zola 7
Former Yizo-Yizo actor and TV presenter spoke openly about his alleged disappearance from the industry and about being broke.
“I’m LSM four not six. If you want to see me go to Panyaza, if you want to see me in Cape Town go to Kwa Mzoli. If you go to Zola or anywhere in Soweto people will tell you ‘are you crazy saying that this man is not available because he is always here’.”
The former Ayeye actor alleges that the media turned on him and that a lot of what was said and written about his financial situation wasn’t true.
Zola explained:
“There was a time when I was sitting on the sofa with an accountant and my lawyer and everything was on point. But the state took R650 000 away from me… What people don’t know in this country is that I spent about R 4,5 million of my money paying for season eight of my show [Zola 7]. I haven’t been paid. I’m sitting here, people talking about Zola being broke, I paid… for the love of my people, for season eight.”
Zola has since made peace with his misfortunes as he believes it was important to go through everything he’s experienced and was even featured in Casper’s album last year which was well received.
“It is very important to be nailed. The whole idea is to survive the storm.”
Tshidi from Malaika
Fans of Malaika have been wondering what happened to one of the country’s most celebrated Afro-pop bands for years.
The lead singer; Tshisi Mholo of Malaika came out a while ago and explained why they have been absent from the musical spotlight.
Mholo said the group is no longer in existence because her band-mate; Bongani Nchang(pictured below), betrayed and manipulated her.
Mholo explains the last straw for her:
“Bongani Nchang left me at his grandfather’s funeral and went to perform in Rustenburg without my knowledge. It took me by surprise and I was shocked to learn Bongani and the entire Malaika crew, including the road manager, had betrayed me. This was also not the first time. There were many instances where Bongani performed alone as Malaika without my knowledge. There were also instances where he would double-book the band to disastrous consequences. I kept quiet for a long time, watching things spiral out of control. I hope they would get better. I reached a point where I thought I should back off and see what happens. We had managerial malfunctions and no one from Sony was willing to intervene – to help us resolve them. I used to complain to Sony as an individual, but my pleas fell on deaf ears. Right now, we are all suffering including the brand we built with so much sacrifice.
People still feel they want to see the band working again. But they don’t understand there were issues that needed to be resolved first so that everybody would be comfortable.”
Nonhle Thema
Before Bonang Matheba, there was Nonhle Thema! Not only do the celebrities look alike, but they have similar personalities.
Nonhle was the “it” girl, the centre of the entertainment industry and the talk of the town.
“I was always trying to find my purpose. I was always seeking for it. I thought that the Nonhle that I had become, the fame and everything was the purpose but it actually wasn’t. I started getting in a space where I was self-indulging. It was all about me, and that isn’t anybody’s purpose. Our purpose, now I have learnt is to serve.”
The former Gomora actress disappeared from the limelight after several high-profile breakdowns, before she announced her retirement from the industry two years ago.
She said:
“I was grateful for all the challenges I had faced and the boundaries I broke. In my dark days, I felt like the devil was trying to get to me.”
Main Image: Mgosi
