Cleaner, greener, richer — meet the change-maker creating a better Soweto for all

A view of the world’s most famous township. Photos: Bridget Hilton-Barber

By Bridget Hilton-Barber

14 Apr 2025

The area can also do with some revitalisation, and Mbali Zulu is the man to lead it.

The Soweto chapter of Jozi My Jozi was recently formed, expanding the urban revitalisation movement’s mission beyond the inner city to Soweto, on the city’s southwestern flank. The aim of the partnership is to create community-driven change – and the charge is being led by the irrepressible Soweto-born Mbali Zulu, a change-maker since his schooldays.

Zulu started school in 1994, the year South Africa’s democracy was born. And although Soweto has undergone huge changes since then, with roads being tarred, trees planted and new malls and residential complexes appearing, Zulu has also grown up alongside serious urban challenges such as unemployment, crime, patchy infrastructure and illegal rubbish dumping.

The very issue of omnipresent rubbish led to Zulu serendipitously bumping into people from Jozi My Jozi. He works with Keep Kasi Clean, a community initiative in Soweto tackling illegal dumping and environmental issues by introducing sustainable waste management practices. As he says, everyone wants a cleaner, greener and richer Soweto.

He shared Jozi My Jozi’s approach to tackling issues from the ground up, and developed a partnership centred on exchanging ideas and collaborating in terms of safety, security, tourism, culture and community development – the rise of a coalition of the willing, so to speak.

Soweto Mbali Mbali Zulu. (Photo: Bridget Hilton-Barber)

Zulu enthusiastically points out that Soweto is a magical kasi (township) with a rich culture and history, a delicious mix of vibrancy and resilience, indeed the world’s most famous township with massive potential. “We want to empower local business and entrepreneurs in Soweto,” he says. “We want to grow tourism and we want to promote the arts, sports and culture.”

In the lead-up to the G20 Summit this year Soweto is fluffing up its tourism tail feathers and there are exciting new arts and culture spaces, a soon-to-be-launched Soweto Art Mile and a continuing drive to get tourists and visitors to sleep over in Soweto instead of leaving on the proverbial 3pm bus.

“Come and experience the warmth and spirit of Soweto,” says Zulu. “There are incredible experiences to be had in Soweto. There are fabulous restaurants, museums, galleries and theatres, and plenty of comfortable overnight spots. We are planning events ranging from Sunday markets to music happenings and a big Youth Day festival on 16 June.”

Zulu says he started the #WeUprising Movement in Soweto in 2019 because he felt the original spirit of 16 June had almost completely disappeared from among local young people. It was just a day for chilling, drinking and partying. Next year’s 50th anniversary of the famous Soweto uprising, however, will re-enact the event and aims to restore its dignity.

Zulu used to work from The Box Shop, a lifestyle retail space in Soweto made from shipping containers at the top end of the famous Vilakazi Street. It was a business incubator promoting up-and-coming brands, labels, designs and start-ups, but it closed permanently after Covid.

A view of the world’s most famous township. (Photo: Bridget Hilton-Barber)

Soweto is a delicious mix of vibrancy and resilience. (Photo: Bridget Hilton-Barber)

He is a self-described “slasher” – modern slang for a young person with multiple jobs – your typical 24/7 hustler, chameleon worker, creative cross-pollinator. And for a thirty-something he’s done a lot.

Schooled in the north and south of Jozi, Zulu obtained a distinction in maths, then headed for the bright lights of Sandton where he earned a three-year diploma from Boston Media House. During this time he worked for Standard Bank for nearly a decade, rising from a call centre guy to a team leader and landing his dream job in the marketing department. This gave him a taste of handling event sponsorship, PR and all sorts of marketing consulting and networking.

Read more: Creative inner-city hubs bring bold new art to Johannesburg

He travelled extensively in South Africa when the bank went for its mass-market Access Banking campaign – a huge drive to include black South Africans in the banking system. Zulu saw the need to develop townships and came across new apps like SnapScan, new services like Uber and new ways of doing things he found really exciting.

“I’m a creative with a burning desire to be an entrepreneur,” he says.

And then life happened: he resigned, was defrauded in a big sponsorship deal, contracted TB and nearly died.

This massive change pushed Zulu deep into self-reflection and spirituality. He returned to Soweto and basically started his life again in 2015, surviving, he says, because of the love and support from family and the people of Soweto. And like Soweto, Zulu is rising. DM

Bridget Hilton-Barber is a freelance writer who writes for Jozi My Jozi.

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.

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