Kwaito legend Kabelo Mabalane has been on a long difficult journey to recover from addiction. As he recently went online to share a huge milestone in his recovery, he had many confused especially on his method of choice.
The artist turned rapper recently took to his Instagram page to share big news. He just celebrated 20 years of sobriety, which is amazing. It is not an easy feat to fight drug addiction, much less to stay clean and sober for two decades. It must be that much harder for a celebrity in Mzansi, considering all the events and parties that celebrities frequent and that alcohol is served in most of them.
Many Zalebs have recently either gone into the alcohol business by starting their own brands like Boity and Cassper, or secured brand endorsements to promote existing brands like Nadia Nakai and AKA. Just by that we know that the business is booming in the country.
So it must have been a consideration for Kabelo: all the brands he can't partner with because of his alcohol-free status. But as it turns out, that avenue is not completely closed to him. In his announcement he marketed Bavaria non-alcoholic beer, innocent as a good alternative for those who love the taste of beer but would like to get clean.
It may seem counterintuitive for a recovering addict to partner with an alcohol company to market their products, even though the specific one he talked about is non-alcoholic. As it turns out we're not the only ones who raised an eyebrow.
Although they are happy for him and congratulated him, fans still questioned the wisdom in partnering with an alcohol brand. As they pointed out it may not be a good idea for him to be around triggers.
People will do anything for a cheque, being around triggers is never a substitute nor can it be considered abstaining. Happy for the pantsula though.
— Sanele Malinga (@sanelemalinga) January 20, 2022
Furthermore, as another pointed out even zero beer has at least a small percentage of alcohol. We are unclear on where he got this information but it's still a cause of concern for him and more Kabelo fans.
Zero beer has alcohol, up to 2%. I would not encourage it for people who want to quit drinking, jist don't drink period. Well done Booga 2 Shoes keep it up, you inspire us, I quit drinking and it feels good to be sober and bank balance intle😜
— Sibs Koyana (@SibuKoyana) January 21, 2022
The pastor recently opened up about his drug addiction on Podcast and Chill with MacG. He revealed that he lost about R2 million on drugs and alcohol during his partying days.
But even at rock bottom it seems that Kabelo had a guardian angel looking out for him. He said that luckily for him none of his wild trips ever ended in anything irreversible like death. She got his chance to turn his life around and he's not looking back.
We have to offer our congratulations too. It is always nice to see someone turn the life around, and Kabelo is a big inspiration.