South African gospel artist Nontokozo Mkhize has started 2026 on a high note, winning her first award outside of South Africa.
The musician won the Best Female Artist in Southern Africa Award at the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA). The awards were held in Lagos, Nigeria, on Sunday night. The ceremony celebrated talent from across Africa.
Taking to Instagram, Mkhize celebrated her win with her followers, thanking them for their support.
“ “It is not human speed—it is God’s timing overriding human limitation” divine acceleration 🥺🙌🏽 What a beautiful way to start this year ❤️… an international Jesus girlie 😝🙂↔️🥳
“Thank You @afrima.official 🙌🏽 and thank you to my team and all the Lilies ❤️”
The week-long AFRIMA event concluded with an awards ceremony that underscored Nigeria’s current musical prowess. This finale followed a period of deliberation by a diverse panel of music experts drawn from both Africa and the diaspora.
The gathering successfully brought together various industry professionals.
Mkhize is one of the rising stars in South African gospel. In December, she was crowned Best Newcomer of the Year at the South African Music Awards.
Her debut studio album “Lindiwe” made waves in the industry by earning over 1 million streams on Spotify South Africa in its first week.
The Afro-soul singer and songwriter, whose real name is Nontokozo Hlengwa, began singing in 2017 as a vocal artist and has worked with artists such as Benjamin Dube, Mondli Ngcobo, Naima Kay, Dumi Mkokstad and Sjava.
Her hit single “Esandleni” is the most-streamed solo song by a female artist in a single week on Spotify South Africa, surpassing Adele’s “Easy on Me”.
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