Mthandazo Gatya Celebrates 14 Years of Sobriety

Multi-award-winning singer Mthandazo Gatya is marking a significant milestone—14 years since he decided to quit alcohol. Reflecting on his journey, the Senzeni hitmaker shared with Daily Sun that quitting alcohol was a life-saving decision.

“I felt that if I continued, it might have ruined my life,” Mthandazo revealed. His exposure to alcohol began at a young age, with family members who drank heavily, leading him to experiment early on. “By grade 9, I was already drinking heavily,” he said, admitting his family was unaware of how much he was struggling.

Mthandazo’s turning point came at the age of 24. “Drinking felt to me like a pattern I needed to break because I had a lot of people in my family who had lost everything because of alcohol. My dad included.”

When he first told his friends about his decision to quit, they didn’t believe him. “They thought I was kidding. I was also trying to prove a point to them that I could stop. That helped me, so it wasn’t the hardest thing. I don’t recall a single day where I felt like I needed alcohol,” he explained.

Now, 14 years sober, Mthandazo has a message for others: “One thing is for sure, you cannot use alcohol as your source of happiness.”

Though he has been in the industry for some time, his career took off in 2022 when he participated in John Legend’s #OpenVerseChallenge. His performance of Legend’s song Nervous went viral, leading to a collaboration with the music icon himself.