NKABINDE From Leachville to Liberia
Ayanda Nkabinde, known to many as MaNkabinde, is 23 and from Leachville, Brakpan. She’s built a name across three lanes at once — traditional modelling, media, and student leadership — and she’s still stacking wins across all three. She holds the title of Traditional Model of the Year, served as a radio presenter through 2024/25, became the first female to lead her university’s Zulu Cultural Society, sat on North-West University’s Student Campus Council as Societies Liaison and International Students Officer, and, most recently, graduated cum laude and made the Dean’s List as her faculty’s top achiever.
Family kept her pushing. The people she met along the way taught her she was worthy of everything she’s achieved.
Two Doors.
Opened At The Same Time.
Ayanda’s story runs on two parallel tracks. Modelling found her through social media, where her presence and traditional styling started pulling attention. Leadership found her through university, where she got involved and kept saying yes to more responsibility. Most people are still figuring out one lane in their early twenties — Ayanda’s been building two, at the same time, without letting either one slide.
She carries the name MaNkabinde with pride, and it shows in her work — proudly promoting Zulu cultural heritage through her modelling, her content, and her involvement with the Ebuntombini cultural group.
Graduated Cum Laude
Ayanda recently graduated cum laude and is now part of the Golden Key International Honour Society — a top student society reserved for high academic performers. She was also named to the 2024 Dean’s List as her faculty’s top achiever. Alongside a seat on the Student Campus Council and becoming the first female to lead her university’s Zulu Cultural Society, it’s proof she’s never just doing one thing at a time.
Three Lanes.
Three Different Wins.
Ayanda doesn’t have one single breakthrough moment — she has one for each lane she’s built. In modelling, it was entering a competition as a traditional model and finishing first runner-up. In front of the camera, it was landing a spot in a music video by Ndu Browns. And in leadership, it was stepping into the Student Campus Council and eventually representing South Africa on an international stage.
It Was Never
Just Her.
Ask Ayanda what got her here and the answer isn’t a strategy — it’s her family. She points to their support as the thing that kept her pushing through every stage of the journey. Beyond that, she talks about the people she’s crossed paths with along the way — the ones who pushed her to be the best version of herself, and who helped her see herself as worthy of everything she’s achieved.
That combination — family behind her, the right people beside her — is a big part of how someone ends up modelling, presenting on radio, sitting on a student council, co-founding a brand, and graduating cum laude, all in the same chapter of her life.
Say It Again Media is proud to spotlight East Rand talent like Ayanda Nkabinde. From Leachville to Liberia, this is exactly the kind of homegrown story we live to tell. Follow her page and keep up with what she builds next.
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