A "triple threat", down to earth, the class clown, and an ambassador for the Eastern Cape: this is how Ziphozakhe Zokufa, the Miss SA runner up, is described by friends and family.
A "triple threat", down to earth, the class clown, and an ambassador for the Eastern Cape: this is how Ziphozakhe Zokufa, the Miss SA runner up, is described by friends and family.
Zokufa, originally from Port Elizabeth, was crowned Miss SA 1st princess on Sunday evening 30 March.
She is currently living in Cape Town, while finishing her studies and perusing her modelling career.
“She mentioned in passing once that she wouldn’t mind being a Victoria Secret Angel,” Rhodes student and Zokufa’s cousin, Happy Nkonki, said.
Besides her beauty, Zofuka also acts and is a professional singer. “She’s a 'triple threat' when competing,” said Nkonki.
Nkonki only met Zokufa at the age of 15 while they were in the Eastern Cape Youth Choir, where she sang 1st soprano. “We became friends and discovered that we shared the same clan name,” he explained.
She travelled overseas representing not only her province in the choir, but also her country.
It was in the Eastern Cape Youth Choir where Rhodes student Khanya Bonani also got to know Zofuka. “I met Zipho at Collegiate High School (in Port Elizabeth) in grade 8. We weren't the closest of friends, but she was so friendly and hilarious”.
Bonani said Zokufa was the class clown who just wanted people to laugh and to relax. “She was a great girl to be around,” said Bonani.
Bonani and Zokufa also used to work together in youth media publications such as Fly Magazine.
“It's a popular youth magazine amongst PE high schools, which also hosted events and became a multimedia company Fly Piggy Fly,” Bonani added.
After changing schools, Zokufa started to make waves in modelling towards the end of her high school career at Hill College, in Port Elizabeth.
In a telephonic interview with Grocott's Mail this week, Zokufa admitted that modelling and beauty pageants weren’t always her thing: “I’ve done it before as little girl of six or seven, but I was a bit of a tomboy back then and I wasn’t too keen on it.”
Being able to play five instruments and sing, Zokufa’s music kept her really busy and she only started modelling around the age of 16.
“I’m glad I only started modelling later on, when I already knew who I was,” Zokufa said. She feels that this is very important; otherwise, she said, you will lose yourself in a tough, stressful and competitive industry.
Although Zokufa believes that travelling broadened her horizons and that her province might have restricted at times, the Eastern Cape will always be home to her. “It’s the most beautiful place,” she exclaimed, admitting to her biased opinion.
She said that it has been a long time since a girl from the Eastern Cape did well in Miss SA and she really wanted to put her province on the map.
“Her achievement on (Sunday) night at Miss South Africa made the Eastern Cape and everyone who supported her over the years very proud,” said Bonani.
Nkonki said it was inevitable that something of this magnitude was going to happen in Zokufa’s life: “But she has not reached her pinnacles yet. She has so much more to offer and in due time the world will know (that).”
