The two young South African artists use Afro-pop, R&B and soul to confront gender-based violence from the perspective of survivors — placing vulnerability, betrayal and the consequences of silence at the centre of their new single.
South Africa’s gender-based violence crisis is measured through numbers large enough to become difficult to comprehend: approximately 7.3 million adult women have experienced physical violence in their lifetimes, while more than 2.15 million have experienced sexual violence. “Wangishaya” matters because Okuhle and Anele Lushaba move the conversation from prevalence to emotional reality, asking listeners to confront what happens when love, trust and protection become the conditions through which violence enters somebody’s life.
There is a particular kind of betrayal at the centre of “Wangishaya”: the moment someone expected to provide safety becomes the source of fear.
The person you trusted to protect you becomes the person you need protection from — and “Wangishaya” refuses to let that contradiction disappear once the music ends.
It is from that tension that Okuhle Philasande Khumalo and Anele Lushaba build their new collaboration. Rather than approaching gender-based violence as an abstract social issue, “Wangishaya” is written from the perspective of people experiencing abuse, turning the language of trust, heartbreak and disappointment into the emotional foundation of the record.
For Okuhle, the idea is rooted in the contradiction between protection and violence.
“We worked on a beautiful song with Anele Lushaba,” she explains. “In this song, we sing from the perspective of GBV victims — approaching it from a place of vulnerability and expressing the heartbreak and disappointment of trusting someone to be your protector, only for them to turn out to be a monster.”
That perspective matters in South Africa, where gender-based violence remains far too large to exist only as an awareness-month talking point. The country’s first national Gender-Based Violence Prevalence Study found that approximately 7.3 million South African women aged 18 and older have experienced physical violence in their lifetimes, while more than 2.15 million have experienced sexual violence. More recently, SAPS recorded 50,511 GBVF cases during the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year. (South Africa Government)
Against that backdrop, “Wangishaya” enters a much bigger conversation than the release of another single.
The song blends Afro-pop, R&B and soul around what its creators describe as a haunting, emotionally charged sound, with Okuhle’s vocals carrying a story built around pain and vulnerability rather than spectacle. Its stated purpose is equally direct: to encourage conversations around abuse, healing and accountability while reminding those who have experienced violence that their stories are not isolated.
For Anele Lushaba, the subject also carries a personal proximity.
Raised on KwaZulu-Natal’s South Coast before studying Drama and Music at Creative Arts College in Durban, Lushaba has worked across television productions and recently introduced herself as a recording artist through her debut single, “Take Me Away.” But the significance of “Wangishaya”, according to her biography, comes from having witnessed people close to her experience gender-based violence. The song becomes a way of translating what she has seen into advocacy through music.
That gives the collaboration an important distinction. Neither artist is simply borrowing GBV as a dramatic theme. The intention is to use storytelling to inhabit the emotional reality around it — the broken trust, fear and trauma that statistics cannot communicate by themselves.
It is also a notable step in Okuhle’s still-young career.
Born in December 2009 and raised in Mandeni, KwaZulu-Natal, the vocalist has been developing a sound that moves between Afro-pop, R&B and soul, often built around emotionally direct songwriting. Her biography credits a widely circulated cover, attention from Queen Latifah and a co-sign from Q Twins with helping expand her profile before the release of her debut single “Ngihleli Naye,” recorded with Q Twins and her sister Ayarhkay Khumalo.
The supplied release materials report that “Ngihleli Naye” surpassed 1.5 million streams within two weeks, reached number one on iTunes on 5 June 2025 and spent more than ten days at number five on YouTube’s trending rankings. Okuhle is now in Grade 11, continuing to pursue music alongside school.
It would be easy to make her age the story. “Wangishaya” makes a stronger case for looking at what she is choosing to do with the attention instead.
Young artists are often encouraged to establish themselves through songs designed primarily for reach: romance, aspiration, danceability and moments easily converted into social-media circulation. There is nothing inherently wrong with any of that. But choosing to centre a record on gender-based violence means asking listeners to sit with something considerably less comfortable.
And that is where “Wangishaya” finds its purpose.
A song cannot solve gender-based violence. It cannot substitute for policing, survivor services, accountability, prevention or the institutional response required by a crisis of this scale. What music can do is make an issue emotionally difficult to keep at a distance. It can create language for experiences people struggle to articulate. It can make a private story recognisable to someone else.
For survivors who have been made to feel isolated by abuse, recognition itself can matter.
Okuhle and Anele Lushaba are therefore not presenting “Wangishaya” as an answer. They are presenting it as an invitation to speak — and, just as importantly, an insistence that people listen.
In a country where millions of women have experienced violence, perhaps the most important thing about “Wangishaya” is not that two artists have chosen to sing about GBV.
It is that the song asks what happens when the person you trusted to protect you becomes the person you need protection from — and refuses to let that question disappear once the music ends.
Story index Key points, people & topics
Key points & topics
- The two young South African artists use Afro-pop, R&B and soul to confront gender-based violence from the perspective of survivors — placing vulnerability, betrayal and the consequences of silence at the centre of their new...
- Okuhle and Anele Lushaba approach gender-based violence through the emotional betrayal at its centre. Their new collaboration “Wangishaya” is written from the perspective of survivors, turning trust, fear and heartbreak into a...
- Okuhle and Anele Lushaba confront gender-based violence on “Wangishaya”, an Afro-pop, R&B and soul song centred on survivors, broken trust and healing.
Frequently asked Answers from the desk
Who are Okuhle and Anele Lushaba?
Okuhle Philasande Khumalo and Anele Lushaba are young South African recording artists collaborating on the gender-based violence awareness song Wangishaya.
What is Wangishaya about?
Wangishaya approaches gender-based violence from the perspective of survivors and focuses on the betrayal fear and heartbreak of being harmed by someone who was expected to provide love or protection.
What genre is Wangishaya?
The song blends Afro-pop R&B and soul.
Why did Okuhle and Anele Lushaba make Wangishaya?
According to material supplied to Viranova the artists want the song to encourage conversations around gender-based violence healing accountability and the experiences of survivors.
Is Wangishaya based on gender-based violence in South Africa?
The song addresses GBV broadly but arrives in a South African context where national research has found extremely high levels of physical sexual and intimate-partner violence against women.
How many South African women have experienced physical violence?
The country's first national GBV prevalence study estimates that approximately 7.3 million women aged 18 and older have experienced physical violence during their lifetimes.
How many South African women have experienced sexual violence?
The same national study estimates that more than 2.15 million adult women have experienced sexual violence during their lifetimes.
How many GBVF cases were recorded in the first quarter of 2026/27?
Government says SAPS registered 50,511 GBVF cases between April and June 2026.
Who is Okuhle Philasande Khumalo?
Okuhle is an Afro-pop artist from Mandeni KwaZulu-Natal born on 18 December 2009.
How old is Okuhle?
Okuhle is 16 years old as of September 2026.
How we reported this Sources, verification & accountability
- Reporting type
- News
- Verification
- Official source
- Reporter / responsible desk
- Viranova Awards Desk
- Primary evidence
- Based primarily on release and biographical material supplied to Viranova for Okuhle Philasande Khumalo, Anele Lushaba and “Wangishaya”, including the artists’ explanation of the song’s survivor-centred perspective, Okuhle’s comments on trust and protection, Anele’s personal proximity to gender-based violence, and supplied background on both artists. Okuhle’s public biography and catalogue were independently checked against Apple Music, Shazam, Qobuz and current cross-platform music data. Apple Music confirms that Okuhle was born on 18 December 2009 in Mandeni, KwaZulu-Natal, and identifies her genre as Afro-pop. “Ngihleli Naye” was independently confirmed as a 4 June 2025 collaboration between Okuhle, Ayarhkay and Q Twins. Anele Lushaba’s recording catalogue was checked against Apple Music, Shazam and Audiomack. Her television work was independently confirmed through TVSA’s Uzalo Season 10 cast records, while Business and Arts South Africa material also identifies Anele Lushaba as an artist associated with Harmony Sound Records and Uzalo. The gender-based violence context was independently checked against the Human Sciences Research Council’s national prevalence findings, South African Government statements and the latest publicly reported SAPS first-quarter 2026/27 GBVF figures.
- Additional verification
- The Human Sciences Research Council’s first South African National Gender-Based Violence Prevalence Study provides the most substantial national baseline currently available. It found that 33.1% of adult women — approximately 7.31 million people — had experienced physical violence during their lifetimes, while 9.8%, or approximately 2.15 million, had experienced sexual violence. At the end of August 2026, government reported that SAPS had registered 50,511 GBVF cases during the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year, covering April to June, with 30,736 resulting in arrests or referrals to the National Prosecuting Authority. Apple Music lists Okuhle as an Afro-pop artist from Mandeni, KwaZulu-Natal, born on 18 December 2009. Her catalogue includes “Ngihleli Naye” and 2026’s “Ukholo Lwami”, while earlier release data confirms her appearance on Ayarhkay’s “Dali” with Naledi Aphiwe. “Ngihleli Naye” was released through Bee Creatives on 4 June 2025 and credits Okuhle Philasande Khumalo as one of its songwriters alongside Ayarhkay, Q Twins and other contributors. Current music analytics place the record above 1.7 million streams, independently supporting its status as Okuhle’s major early catalogue breakthrough. Apple Music independently confirms Anele Lushaba’s 2025 releases including “Take Me Away”, “Mama” and On This Show 001, while TVSA records her appearance in Uzalo Season 10.
- Image
- Anele Lushaba and Okuhle Philasande Khumalo · Supplied by Bee Creatives ENT
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Filed by Viranova Awards Desk for the Culture desk · KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Published 11 Sept 2026.
Sources
Primary material
Viranova obtained, attended or witnessed this directly.
- Okuhle and Anele Lushaba describe Wangishaya as a song addressing gender-based violence from the perspective of victims and survivors Wangishaya release material supplied to Viranova · Verified Viranova original information accessed 11 September 2026
- Okuhle says Wangishaya is built around the heartbreak of trusting someone to be a protector only for that person to become a source of violence and fear Wangishaya release material supplied to Viranova · Verified Viranova original information accessed 11 September 2026
- Wangishaya blends Afro-pop R&B and soul around themes of vulnerability abuse healing and accountability Wangishaya release material supplied to Viranova · Verified Viranova original information accessed 11 September 2026
- Anele Lushaba says the subject of gender-based violence carries personal proximity because she has witnessed people close to her experience abuse Wangishaya / Anele Lushaba biographical material supplied to Viranova · Verified Viranova original information accessed 11 September 2026
- Okuhle's supplied biography says Ngihleli Naye exceeded 1.5 million streams within two weeks reached number one on iTunes on 5 June 2025 and spent more than ten days at number five on YouTube trending Okuhle biographical material supplied to Viranova · Verified Viranova original information accessed 11 September 2026
- Okuhle is currently in Grade 11 and continues pursuing her music career alongside school Okuhle biographical material supplied to Viranova · Verified Viranova original information accessed 11 September 2026
Secondary material
Reported first by another publication or organisation, and credited here.
- The first South African National Gender-Based Violence Prevalence Study found that approximately 7.3 million women aged 18 and older had experienced physical violence during their lifetimes Human Sciences Research Council / South African Government accessed 11 September 2026
- The national GBV prevalence study found that more than 2.15 million adult South African women had experienced sexual violence during their lifetimes Human Sciences Research Council / South African Government accessed 11 September 2026
- Approximately 3.2 million women reported experiencing physical intimate-partner violence during their lifetimes Human Sciences Research Council / South African Government accessed 11 September 2026
- SAPS recorded 50,511 GBVF cases during the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year and 30,736 resulted in arrests or referrals to the National Prosecuting Authority South African Government accessed 11 September 2026
- Apple Music identifies Okuhle as an Afro-pop artist from Mandeni KwaZulu-Natal born on 18 December 2009 Apple Music accessed 11 September 2026
- Ngihleli Naye by Okuhle Ayarhkay and Q Twins was released on 4 June 2025 through Bee Creatives Apple Music accessed 11 September 2026
- Current cross-platform tracking places Ngihleli Naye above 1.7 million streams Chartmetric-derived Chartex data accessed 11 September 2026
- Okuhle appeared with Naledi Aphiwe on Ayarhkay's Dali released on 24 February 2024 Apple Music accessed 11 September 2026
- Anele Lushaba's public catalogue includes Take Me Away Mama and On This Show 001 Apple Music accessed 11 September 2026
- TVSA's Uzalo Season 10 cast record includes Anele Lushaba in the role of Girl 1 TVSA accessed 11 September 2026
- Business and Arts South Africa identifies Anele Lushaba as a Harmony Sound Records artist associated with Uzalo Business and Arts South Africa accessed 11 September 2026
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