The late Nelson Mandela’s granddaughter Zoleka Mandela recently revealed that she was expecting her sixth child with her partner Andile Cana, and while many on social media are excited for her, there are also just as many who are tired of the pregnancy announcements from her.
The celebrated author made the announcement by posting pictures on social media, and the internet was immediately broken. First, she is radiant! As we have seen before, pregnancy really agrees with her, and she is glowing.
Many of her fans and celebrity friends, including Ayanda Ncwane and Phindile Gwala hopped into her comments to tell her as much and to congratulate her on her upcoming bundle of joy. Fans even pointed out that she carries so well that they were tempted to join her in pregnancy!
Unfortunately, while many were showering her with their congratulations and praises in her comments, tweeps were trolling her on the other side. As one fan asked in her comments, isn’t labour painful? Because apparently she makes it look so easy because of how frequently she does it.
“I love Zoleka so much but 6!...” one tweep wrote, and from the comments that took over social media, it seems this is a common sentiment. Some have even taken it upon themselves to calculate for her how much money she will be spending on school fees for her children which, though a little funny, was mean spirited and uncalled for.
She is further being dragged because her children do not have the same baby daddy. Her new pregnancy brings her baby daddy number to 5, which according to some tweeps, is too many. “You don’t have to have a baby for every man you date,” she is being ‘advised’. Others have even suggested that the men are after the Mandela money.
Even so, some are still seeing this announcement for the miracle it is. There is no doubt that the star has been through a lot in her 41 years on earth. As she shared in her book When Hope Whispers, she was abused multiple times in her childhood, by both men and women. She then grew up and got addicted to drugs and alcohol, starting her alcohol use at the tender age of 9.
As if that was not enough, she has since lost two children, a boy and a girl. She also lost her mother, whom she still talks about affectionately. She also battled breast cancer and won, which above all, makes her a hero and a survivor. She has turned her negative experiences into beautiful gifts to share with the world, as she is an advocate for road safety after she lost her daughter in a road accident.
Few people have been through as much as she has been, and it is unfortunate that her win is being turned into something negative. Even if she hadn’t been through as much as she has, it is her womb and she gets to do with it what she pleases, as one tweeps so aptly pointed out that they should let her do what makes her happy.
The hate won’t touch her, though. After everything she has survived, what is a little trolling compared to welcoming another bundle of joy. Also, have you seen how she is glowing? You can’t take away that kind of joy!