Cape Town - South African TV presenter, fashion mogul, musician and executive producer Nandi Madida is undoubtedly one of South Africa’s most talented women as everything she touches seems to turn into gold. Talk about black girl magic!
In a recent conversation with Gareth Cliff on CliffCentral, Nandi spoke honestly about her life, career and everything in between.
She was more than happy to speak about her and Zakes Bantwini’s almost-two-year-old son, Shaka Madida, and the land she bought him for his first birthday.
“I’ve always wanted to buy my child a piece of land, but why I did that – when he was one – was because there was a great piece of land that has water,” the 30-year-old mother said.
But perhaps the most important reason why Nandi bought her son land was to teach him hard work and discipline. “It was important for him to understand that property’s important – this is the land of his ancestors too – but also to understand how important it is to have such an asset. There’s something about rural life; in farming you have to wake up at 3am [to] ensure that everything is functioning. It’s hard work,” she said.
“So I wasn’t being glamorous, he’s going to learn discipline. And of course he can employ other people, but it’s a lot. He’s going to understand what it means to own something, to work for it and look after it, and a lot of people don’t have that concept,” she explained.
And like many of us, Gareth respects and admires the way Nandi and Zakes are raising their son, “I love that; I think if I had a kid, I’d copy your example,” he shared.
But it’s not all hunky dory in parenthood. Nandi mentioned in jest that, although she would have never thought of it before having a child, she might consider having a boob job because after having Shaka her “boobs will never be the same”.
“It’s a wrap for them,” she joked. Nandi is thankful for not having gained any baby weight though, and credits her maintained weight to her choice of not drinking alcohol.
In terms of parenting with her husband Zakes, she said he does everything except change Shaka’s nappy when he’s pooped, “He did it once and he said never again. He’s completely traumatised,” she laughed.
On a more serious note though, Nandi advised her friends and people in general to only have children when they’re ready for them, because their children would be theirs for the rest of their lives. But she was certainly ready, and is planning on having one more child, or even two more, why not?
If anything, Nandi and Zakes’ marriage is beautiful and truly inspiring, and what makes it work is that “We’re so imperfect and fine with it,” Nandi revealed.
