Nellie Shabalala (1953 – May 15, 2002) was the wife of

Ladysmith Black Mambazo Ladysmith Black Mambazo are a South African male choral group singing in the local vocal styles of ''isicathamiya'' and '' mbube''. They became known internationally after singing with Paul Simon on his 1986 album ''Graceland'', and have won m ...

(LBM) leader and founder,

Joseph Shabalala Joseph Shabalala (28 August 1940 – 11 February 2020), was a South African singer and musician who was the founder and musical director of the choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Early life and career Shabalala was born in the town of ...

, for over thirty years. She had formed her own allied group, Women of Mambazo, in the 1970s.''Mamizolo'', Women of Mambazo, CD (Gallo Record Company, 2002). Liner notes, Joseph Shabalala The group were beginning to create a name for themselves after touring with LBM in the United Kingdom in 2001, but disbanded after Nellie Shabalala was shot and killed by a masked gunman, initially for unknown reasons, in May 2002.

Women of Mambazo

In October 2001, Joseph Shabalala brought his wife's group, Women of Mambazo (WOM) to the UK to support LBM in their thirty-date tour of the country. The group, formed of members from the Shabalala's church in South Africa, the

Church of God of Prophecy The Church of God of Prophecy is a Holiness Pentecostal Christian church. It is one of five ''Church of God'' bodies headquartered in Cleveland, Tennessee, that arose from a small meeting of believers who gathered at the Holiness Church at Camp Cr ...

, were a hit with audiences. After both Mambazo groups returned home to South Africa, Joseph organised the recording of WOM's first album.

Murder

In May 2002, Nellie was murdered outside their home in Clermont, Durban, by a masked gunman. Shabalala's hand was injured after struggling to catch his wife's killer. Tributes immediately began pouring in for Nellie from a wide cross-section of fans, friends, and fellow musicians from around the world. A major, high-profile trial followed, in which Joseph's son (Nellie's stepson) Nkosinathi Vivian was accused of hiring a hitman to kill his stepmother. The trial ended in March 2004 when Nellie's real killer, Mboneni Mdunge, was sentenced to life imprisonment.IOL.com
for Nellie Shabalala's killer''
March 2004. The unfinished Women of Mambazo album, ''Mamizolo'', was posthumously released in 2003 as a tribute to Nellie Shabalala.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shabalala, Nellie Ladysmith Black Mambazo 20th-century South African women singers South African murder victims Deaths by firearm in South Africa 1953 births 2002 deaths