{"id":55952,"date":"2026-04-13T16:12:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T16:12:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=55952"},"modified":"2026-04-13T16:12:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T16:12:22","slug":"tributes-pour-in-for-mazibuko-as-ladysmith-black-mambazo-returns-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2026\/04\/13\/tributes-pour-in-for-mazibuko-as-ladysmith-black-mambazo-returns-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Tributes pour in for Mazibuko as Ladysmith Black Mambazo returns home &#8211; SABC News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The internationally acclaimed musical group Ladysmith Black Mambazo has been forced to cut short their United States tour following the death of co-founder Albert Mazibuko.<\/p>\n<p>The legendary Mazibuko passed away on Easter Sunday at the age of 77.<\/p>\n<p>After a career starting in 1969 and spanning more than five decades, he retired from the group last year.<\/p>\n<p>Mazibuko was regarded as the last surviving founding member alongside the late lead singer, Joseph Shabalala. Following his passing, the group returned to South Africa to mourn the loss of their longtime colleague and iconic member.<\/p>\n<p>The legendary Albert Mazibuko has been described as a driving force behind the success of Ladysmith Black Mambazo.<\/p>\n<p>The multi Grammy Award-winning group is known for its isicathamiya sound, a traditional a cappella singing style rooted in Zulu culture.<\/p>\n<p>Many admirers say Mazibuko will be remembered for his distinctive voice and unique dancing style within the group.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PODCAST?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">#PODCAST<\/a> The world continues to mourn the passing of legendary Ladysmith Black Mambazo co-founder, Albert Mazibuko <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/sabcnews?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">#sabcnews<\/a>  <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/sabckzn?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">#sabckzn<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/salpatel786?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">@salpatel786<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 SABC News Radio (@SABCNews_Radio) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SABCNews_Radio\/status\/2041371167907271117?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">April 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>His brother, Abednego Mazibuko, says Albert was also a key source of knowledge and inspiration for younger and upcoming generations of performers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlbert was very kind, and he was a lovely person who enjoyed teaching others. Even at home, schoolchildren would come to him for information, as they were near the school. They would ask him questions about life and other social matters, and he would explain things to them. He would also teach them different songs and compose songs with them. He taught them to love and respect other people,\u201d says Mazibuko.<\/p>\n<p>A retired member of the group, Russell Mthembu, says he worked closely with Mazibuko for many years. He says respect, diligence and perseverance are among the key lessons he learned from Mazibuko.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI learned to be always humble and respect all kinds of people all the time. Respect and humility were very important to both Shabalala and Mazibuko. He was dedicated to the music, and that was very important to him,\u201d says Mthembu.<\/p>\n<p>Mthembu has called on young people to take inspiration from Mazibuko\u2019s life and legacy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are many things young people can learn from Mazibuko\u2019s teaching, including patience and dedication. They must learn to listen and accept if they are wrong, as Mazibuko was doing. This is what Mazibuko believed in. Young people don\u2019t have time to do things thoroughly, and that is why they end up doing the wrong things, and this is a knowledge the late Mazibuko was imparting to the young people,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n<p>Current member of the Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Thulani Shabalala, says Mazibuko\u2019s death is also felt by the group\u2019s international fans.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe whole world is mourning with artists, and we, especially in America, are mourning with them, including Paul Simon, as he sent us the message of condolences. Even now, our friends and music lovers across the world are still sending messages of condolences, as he was a peaceful person and had a good heart. We have lost a pillar of strength,\u201d says Shabalala.<\/p>\n<p>Mazibuko\u2019s memorial service will be held on Wednesday in Durban.<\/p>\n<p>He will be laid to rest on Saturday in Ntabamhlophe, Estcourt, in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED VIDEO | Ladysmith Black Mambazo member Albert Mazibuko passes on: Xolani Majozi<\/strong><br \/><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ladysmith Black Mambazo member Albert Mazibuko passes on: Xolani Majozi\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/53sFxvsEbaI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>                    <!--begin code --><\/p>\n<p>                    <!--end code --><\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#Tributes #pour #Mazibuko #Ladysmith #Black #Mambazo #returns #home #SABC #News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The internationally acclaimed musical group Ladysmith Black Mambazo has been forced to cut short their United States tour following the&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":55953,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55952"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55954,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55952\/revisions\/55954"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}