Zwelibanzi Moyo Williams

Zwelibanzi "Zweli" Moyo Williams (born 1977) is a Zimbabwean-American chef and restaurateur. She specializes in Southern African cuisine and opened multiple restaurants in Durham, North Carolina. As the wife of Mayor Leonardo Williams, she has been the First Lady of Durham since 2023.

Early life and education Williams was born in 1977 in the Matabeleland region of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and spent part of her childhood in Bulawayo during the Rhodesian Bush War. Her parents belonged to opposing ethnic groups and later divorced, at which time she lived with her mother. When she was two years old, her father kidnapped her and brought her to Plumtree to place her in the care of his mother. Her visa expired and she was kicked out of school, ultimately returning and graduating in 2003. She founded Zweli's Piri Piri Kitchen, which was reportedly the first-known Zimbabwean restaurant in the United States.

In 2021, she was named Best Chef in Durham County by INDY Week. That same year, she gave the keynote address at Eta Sigma Delta's induction ceremony for students of North Carolina Central University's Hospitality and Tourism Administration Program and Durham Technical Community College’s Hospitality Management Program.

In 2022, she and her husband opened Zweli's Ekhaya in Durham's American Tobacco Historic District.

Politics and public life Williams and her husband were active in the 2020 Biden campaign and attended the U.S. presidential debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee as special guests of Joe Biden.

In 2023, her husband was elected as Mayor of Durham, at which time she became the city's first lady. In March 2024, she met with U.S. First Lady Jill Biden.

Personal life She met Leonardo Williams while the two were students at North Carolina Central University. They later married. She has one son, Izaiah, from a previous marriage.