Chronicle Editor
Sandisiwe Gumbo, Sunday Life Reporter
VETERAN model Sipho Mazibuko is quitting the industry after a career spanning over 35 years.
That comes shortly after she received the prestigious Guru/Legendary Award at the Bulawayo Models Awards. Mazibuko said she no longer wishes to compete with younger models and believes it is time for her to step aside.
However, she said she will remain a consultant.
“After winning the Guru/Legend Award, I have come to the realisation that it is the perfect moment to hang up my stilettos,” Mazibuko shared in an interview with Sunday Life.
“I cannot continue competing with the young individuals that I have mentored. Now, as a model agency owner, my role is to support and uplift them.”
Mazibuko’s modelling journey started at the age of 15 when she won her first title, Miss Eveline High School. That marked the beginning of an illustrious career, during which she went on to secure 13 titles, showcasing her outstanding talent and dedication to the industry.
She was crowned Miss Highlanders Football Club in 1991, Miss Teen Queen and Miss Bulawayo in 1992.
In 2003, she organised the prestigious Miss Rural Zimbabwe which became one of the largest pageants in Bulawayo.
“After winning Miss Highlanders I then broke the record to become the first black Miss Teen Queen in a competition with about 30 white girls and two blacks. I went on to win Miss Bulawayo later, with a plenty of awards in between. I have managed to win 13 different modelling titles in total.
“I opened the Strides Models Zimbabwe Modelling Agency that was outstanding and became a top agency. After that I started my own pageant Miss Summer Strides, Mr Strides, Miss Winter Strides and the big one being the Miss Rural Zimbabwe. Miss Rural Zimbabwe discontinued after a scandal but will still go on maybe under new licence holders, currently I am not sure how I will structure it out but that one is not dead. To prove how powerful Miss Summer Strides was I held the last edition in 2022 and I had a full house with ZBC covering the show live.”
During her time organising Miss Rural Zimbabwe, Mazibuko faced accusations of involvement in the trafficking and exploitation of young girls with the allegations taking a toll on her marriage leading to a divorce.
“At Miss Rural I faced challenges with a senior tourism official who was accusing me of abusing girls and finding men for them, two of my girls were taken from camp at Holiday Inn by him and put at Rainbow Towers in Harare for a month and during that time they were giving interviews to anybody wanting an interview about how I was selling the girls.”
The stress and scrutiny due to the accusations and her divorce affected Mazibuko’s mental health resulting in her diagnosis of bipolar disorder and subsequent admission to Ingutsheni Psychiatric Hospital. At one point, she had a suicide attempt.
“People wanted to take Miss Rural away from me, all those challenges affected my marriage and I got divorced. Imagine being a top lawyer and your wife is coming out on the front page of newspapers that she is in prison. It gave me a full nervous breakdown which led to my admission at Ingutsheni Hospital for bipolar disorder.”
Mazibuko managed to resurface in the modelling scene in 2020 managing to do only one show in Matabeleland North. The bipolar led to illnesses making her return short-lived.
Looking ahead, Mazibuko plans to utilise her experience and knowledge by becoming a consultant for aspiring young models.
Her aim is to provide guidance and support to the next generation, helping them with the challenges of the industry, particularly in relationships with men.
“My plans for the future is to be a consultant for the modelling industry and help these youngsters, for I have seen it all. I had Edgars as my client for nearly 10 years, they were getting clients from me for their magazines, but these guys are failing, they are even failing to navigate the media, I might do a workshop for them to teach them how to go about it. The problem in this industry is backstabbing and fighting each other.”
“To the beautiful young ladies who would like to venture into modelling, I say focus and make money to take care of your needs. It is not all about your body, close those legs.”
Bongani Ndlovu