Zola is a section of the

Soweto Soweto () is a Township (South Africa), township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western T ...

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

lying south of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. A number of well-known public figures, mostly musicians call Zola their home and were born and bred there. Zola is in the west of Soweto and is also known as Mzambiya (Zambia) or Mashona (west side). It is surrounded by the townships of Tladi, Naledi, Dobsonville, Emndeni, Jabulani and Moletsane. The musicians Mongezi and his wife, the late

Margaret Singana Margaret Singana (193822 April 2000), born Margaret M'cingana, was a South African musician. She is perhaps best known for her Xhosa song "Hamba Bhekile". An English-language version of the song, "We Are Growing", was used as soundtrack to the So ...

, stayed in Zola before they got a house in Jabulani location which is also near Zola. Kwaito music Legends

Mdu Masilela The initials MDU may refer to: * Mains distribution unit, electrical device * Maharishi Dayanand University in Rohtak, Haryana, India * Manchester Debating Union * McGill Debating Union, a student-run debating society at McGill University. * Med ...

Mandoza Mduduzi Thembinkosi Edmund Tshabalala (17 January 1978 – 18 September 2016), also known as Mandoza, was a South African singer-songwriter and kwaito recording artist. He was known for his contributions to the kwaito genre and his numerous hi ...

, Mshoza, Mzambiya, Brown Dash, Brickz, Kwaito group Chiskop, Mapaputsi, and Zola were all born in Zola. Soccer legends like Shoes of

Orlando Pirates Orlando Pirates Football Club, referred to as simply Pirates, is a South African professional football club based in Orlando, Soweto that plays in the top-tier system of Football in South Africa known as Betway Premiership. The team plays i ...

, Ace Mnini of Moroka Swallows, and Ree Skhosana of Moroka Swallows were all from Zola.

Brenda Fassie Brenda Nokuzola Fassie (3 November 1964 – 9 May 2004) was a South African singer, songwriter, dancer and activist. Affectionately called MaBrrr by her fans, she is also known as the "Queen of African Pop" or the "Madonna of The Townships." Fas ...

also lived in Zola in the early 1980s. Zola is one of the most popular townships in Soweto and famous throughout South Africa for its notorious gangsters in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Gangsters like 11 Boys in the 1960s, Maumaus in the 1970s, and Chivas and Big18s in the late 1980s/early 1990s. It is also popular tourist destination. The Famous historical schools from Zola are Zola Higher Primary School, Dr. Vilakazi and Lavela Secondary School. An upcoming school is Kwadedangendlale Senior Secondary School with good pass rates.

References

Johannesburg Region D Soweto Townships {{Gauteng-geo-stub