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Bongani Ndlovu Saturday Leisure Correspondent
WITTY, bright eyed and ambitious, is how to describe Bulawayo television host, avid fashion follower, and budding actress, Mbo Mahocs (real name Mbonisi Mahonondo) who has become a fashion and lifestyle name in Zimbabwe. Last year, Mbo Mahocs made waves when she hosted the red carpet show at Fashion Week Zimbabwe in Harare. So sterling was her hosting that she made the cover of Jewel Magazine — a leading lifestyle magazine in Zimbabwe, making her the first person from Bulawayo to appear on its cover.

Currently, Mbo is a presenter with an online TV show called Da Grape Vine and also a brand ambassador for Shadow by Sidumiso — a Bulawayo fashion label. Some may also remember her face from the play The Really Stupid Things That Men Say which she featured in.

Saturday Leisure spoke to Mbo Mahocs to get to find out who Mbo Mahocs is and where she draws her inspiration.
Spotting a pair of denim chinos, coupled with a white shirt, powder pink heels and matching neon pink manicure, the 26-year-old Mbo walked into Chronicle offices for her interview. To top off her outfit were her accessories of a gold necklace, earrings, bracelet and an all so fresh Mohawk hairstyle.

Born on February 23, 1988 in Bulawayo, Mbo Mahocs attended Coghlan Primary School, Sacred Heart, Minda High School and Eveline Girls High in Bulawayo.
Mbo said people mistook her for a fashion designer because she loves dressing up. Interestingly, she doesn’t shop at high end boutiques, but actually does her shopping at Bulawayo’s “Khothama Boutique” — a place where people sell mostly second hand clothes.

“People will be surprised by what I can get at Khothama. Every Saturday and Sunday I am always there shopping and you get very cheap original clothes there and dress well. I am not actually a fashion designer, but I am into fashion and don’t really follow world trends.”

Mbo attributed her success to her father; Marshal Mhonondo describing him as the most influential person in her life.
“I love my dad, he calls me Ncu Ncuza and we talk a lot when we are together. I enjoy it when he tells me about his life’s experiences and I realise our generation has gotten things easy,” said a teary eyed Mbo.

She said the way her father brought her up helped her to be independent and adventurous.
“He is a very open person. He did not restrict us from trying out new things because he would give us advice about the ups and downs of the decisions we wanted to make in life. My father was not a dictator but a firm believer in order,” smiled Mbo.

“I can never lie to him because he knows when I am having a bad day. It’s only me who bottles stuff inside me. That’s how well my father knows me,” said Mbo.
Mbo said her relationship with her dad did not go as far as telling him who she was dating.

“We joke about it like for example when he sees me standing with a guy, he will say, so is this my son-in-law and we laugh about it. I save my boy talks for Na Z’mo, my mother. I find it difficult to tell my dad such stuff as any normal Zimbabwean girl,” said Mbo.

Mbo said during her high school days she was a devoted member of the drama club at Minda High School.
“My friend, Michelle Bhebhe and I would organise shows in the dorm where people would sing and dance. Thereafter, my parents thought drama was taking a lot of my time so they shifted me to Eveline High.

“This is where I met Thabani Moyo, who was a drama teacher there. He encouraged me to be more involved with the drama class and pursue a life in the arts industry,” she said.

She said her upbringing helped her a lot when she went to South Africa to seek for greener pastures. Mbo said it was the most difficult time of her life as she left Zimbabwe during the economic meltdown of 2007.

“When I was in South Africa, I would sometimes sleep on an empty stomach and work at dead end jobs. I remember in 2007, I was a waitress at some joint and the white manager racially abused me. I could not stand it and quit, but that only made me stronger,” she said.

Mbo said while in South Africa, she was pursuing her passion of art and met up with Akin Omotso a Nigerian-born South African actor, writer and director known for his role as Khaya Motene in the SABC1 soap Generations who greatly assisted her.

“I enrolled at Big Fish Film School where I met up with Akin who was very helpful and encouraging because he saw something in me,” she said.
With such a personality and beauty, it is hard to believe that Mbo Mahcos is still single.

“Yes, surprisingly for some, I am on the market. There is a guy who I like but he has not made a move. What I want first and foremost is a person who fears God. Someone who has a Christian background so that when we are together and things go wrong, we are on the same spiritual wavelength,” said Mbo.

She said her ideal man was one who had direction in their life and someone who was financially stable.
“I do not know why people always run away from the fact that every relationship needs financial stability, it is a fact. Money though should not be the basis of the relationship, but love and the man should have a goal in life and direction,” said Mbo.