Nelson Mandela’s granddaughter has been vocal about her struggles. She has survived breast cancer, drug addiction and sexual abuse.
In a recent interview with Anele Mdoda, she opened up about some of the surprising things she’s been through.
Zoleka admits that she started drinking alcohol when she was just 9 years old, “I had uncles who were buying alcohol, I used to steal cigarettes from my grandfathers bodyguards and I used to steal weed from a relatives pockets as a young girl.”
She then went on to say that she felt it was okay to steal because she knew she would not get confronted for it, “if they would confront me, I would expose them so I got away with a lot.”
“I started doing hard drugs at a later stage, there were times when I purchased drugs for myself but most of the drugs I used were from the men I dated, I dated drugs dealers and men who were also drug users.” she added
Zoleka checked herself into rehab and she has been sober for the past 6 years.
Image credit: Instagram/zolekamandela
