Born Thulasizwe Siphiwe Dambuza in 19th July 1998, Lasizwe is one of the most popular social media personalities in South Africa. The controversial star has been making headlines a lot since coming out as gay when he was 15 years old.
Lasizwe was born into a small family, his mother Lindiwe Dambuza died in 2016 aged 40 while his father has not been in his life since he was little. Lasizwe’s siblings are Zonke Nkabinde and popular media personality Khanyi Mbau.
With over 800,000 YouTube subscribers and over 1 million followers on Instagram, Lasizwe is one of the social media personalities in South Africa with the highest following and social media presence. This following is good for his career but it comes with its own baggage. Every aspect of his life is scrutinized especially as he comes with the gay tag.
In this article, we take a look at Lasizwe’s siblings; who they are, their careers, and their relationships.
Khanyi Mbau
Lasizwe's sibling- Khanyi Mbau, source: Facebook
The most famous of the two Lasizwe siblings, Khanyisile Mbau aka Khanyi Mbau is a renowned actor and media personality. Born 15th October 1985, the controversial media personality is much like her brother in terms of the amount of following they command on social media platforms.
Mbau is only a half-sister to Lasizwe as their only share a father, Menzi Mcunu. Mcunu reportedly left her with her mother Lynette Sisi Mbau and was not in any way involved in her upbringing. Baby Khanyi was taken to Lynette’s parents in Mofolo Soweto where she was raised. She has often publicly shared how her grandmother taught her everything and raised her to be the woman she is today.
Khanyi Mbau rose to fame as the second Doobsie in the SABC 2 Soap Opera Muvhango between 2004 and 2005 making her a household name. Since then, Mbau has featured on other Television shows as an actor and TV host.
She was recently featured on Netflix's popular reality Television show dubbed Rich, Young And Famous alongside some of the biggest celebrities from around the continent. Among them are Tanzania’s Diamond Platinumz and his baby mama Zari Hassan, Nigeria’s Annie Idibia and her husband 2Face Idibia, South African musician Nadia Nakai and Naked DJ.
Mbau has also had an interest in the business world. Among other business ventures, in 2018 she launched her own brand of gin called I Am Khanyi – Millenial Shimmer Gin.
Lasizwe, Khanyi Mbau and their dad, source: Instagram
Khanyi is Lasizwe’s closest sibling going by how the two show love to each other especially on their social media and in the public limelight. The two usually send each other deep heartfelt messages on their birthdays which goes to show just how much they value their relationship.
Although not the most famous among Lasizwe’s siblings, Zonke seems to be really close to her young brother and Lasizwe has in the past claimed she is one of the reasons behind his sexuality and personality.
Lasizwe and Zonke share the same mother but different fathers. She is one of the people who have always protected him from the public as she was among the very first people to know that he was gay.
Unlike Khanyi and Lasizwe, Zonke is not so much in the entertainment sector. She maintains a low profile on social media and it is actually Lasizwe who most of the times forces her to make appearances on his shows. She has managed to maintain quite a low profile on social media
A young Lasizwe with his family, source: Facebook
The unfortunate demise of their mother, Lindiwe Dambuza in 2016, really affected Lasizwe and it was his elder sister Zonke who took the role of his mother and helped him through it. Zonke works as a Senior Key Account Manager at Liquid Telcom.
Looking at Lasizwe’s siblings, you can tell where he draws his strength and confidence from. It is not clear the kind of relationship Khanyi and Zonke have given they are not related by blood but it is clear that Lasizwe values each of them immensely.
In terms of building his career and shaping his public image, Khanyi Mbau has been the biggest support and influence for Lasizwe while Zonke is more of the protective big sister ready to protect and back her younger brother no matter what.
The star’s sexuality will always be a hot topic especially now as he has everybody confused about whether he is exclusively gay or heterosexual. This is after he has shared on his social media accounts pictures of him getting cozy with both men and women. One thing is for sure though, his sisters have his back.