South African musician Bulelwa ‘Zahara’ Mkutukana left social media murmuring when a clip of her recent performance surfaced online.
Was Zahara drunk on stage?
The 33-year-old has had a tumultuous year, to say the least, and some who have seen the viral clip believe the songstress was not fit to be on stage this past weekend.
Performing a live rendition of Ndiza from her top-selling debut album Loliwe, even the singer’s bandmates, particularly the saxophonist, appeared concerned about her on-stage behaviour.
After a medley of instrumentation from the band, Zahara bellowed the lyrics of her classic song into the microphone and what came out were off-key vocals and screeching shrieks that bothered the eardrums.
The singer’s movement on stage, coupled with the mistimed landing of her charred vocals, led many to believe that she may have had too much to drink.
Here is the viral clip that’s since spread like wildfire on social media:
Guys what's happening with Zahara? 😔💔 pic.twitter.com/v120iAXdej
— Neilwe Joy (@Neilwejoy) December 5, 2021
What’s the latest in her tax troubles?
Outside of her turbulent music career which, some might agree, is on a downward spiral, Zahara is on a long-drawn-out tug of war with the South African Revenue Services (SARS).
A second warrant of arrest was issued against the singer back in late October 2021, when she’d failed to appear at the Palm Ridge specialised commercial crimes court for her tax evasion case.
From what we understand, the Nyamezela songstress paid an admission of guilt fine and avoided direct imprisonment but her rodeo is far from over. The songstress, in her personal capacity, as well as her company Zahara Trading (Pty) Ltd stand accused of failing to submit tax returns for the 2017/2018 financial year. At this juncture, the merits of the case are not known.