Crowned Miss Dunoon, Zibanzi overcame loss and hardship to excel
Peter Luhanga
- Zibanzi Dyantyi earned a bachelor’s pass in her 2024 matric results, including distinctions in mathematical literacy and Xhosa home language.
- After her mother died in 2016, she was raised by her aunt in a one-room shack, sharing space with four siblings, yet persevered through constant challenges to succeed academically.
- Now 18, she plans to pursue an LLB law degree at the University of Western Cape, aspiring to specialise in criminal law.
She dazzled Dunoon as a beauty queen, but Zibanzi Dyantyi’s latest triumph has cemented her status as a rising star.
The 2023 Miss Dunoon has earned a bachelor’s pass in her 2024 matric results, securing two distinctions; in mathematical literacy and Xhosa home language.
Through sheer determination and tireless effort, she emerged from her matric year with an aggregate of 70.83%.
Sinenjongo High School in Joe Slovo Park Milnerton, where she rose from the classroom to the stage, achieved an 88.2% pass rate this year, with 225 learners proving that determination and hard work pay off.
Now 18-years-old, the Dunoon resident – crowned Miss Dunoon at age grade 11 – has applied to study law at the University of Western Cape and is currently awaiting feedback.
In 2016, Zibanzi Dyantyi’s mother died, leaving her to be raised by her aunt in a one-room shack behind an RDP house. Sharing the tight quarters with four siblings, Dyantyi faced challenges to studying. Yet, she has emerged as a testament to resilience, showing that even under the most trying circumstances, determination can light the way forward.
“The noise and lack of space to study were constant challenges. But the school helped me to study at the Asset Learning Hub, where I could focus on my work,” said Dyantyi.
She says her aunt, whom she calls her mother, has always encouraged her to focus on her studies. “My aunt has raised me since I was nine, after my mother’s death,” she said.
She says she wants to pursue a law degree because she has seen how many people lack the courage to stand up for themselves, and she feels the South African justice system is “very weak”.
“I want to specialise in criminal law,” she said.
Her aunt, Athini Dyantyi, said she was thrilled with her niece’s results.
“I’m proud, ‘mos,’” she said.