Elliot Zondi was born on 9 April 1930 in Ngome, Greytown, South Africa. His primary education, during which time he lost his parents, was completed at a local school. His elder brother became his guardian and enrolled him at St Chads for Standards 8 and 9. Thereafter, he studied teaching at the same college. The Department of Education in Pietermaritzburg offered him a bursary to do matric at Inkamane High School; after matriculating, he obtained a bachelor of arts degree in public relations at the University of Fort Hare, and subsequently secured a teaching position at Mlazi Senior Secondary School, now known as Zwelethu High School. He did not remain there long, but started working for Unilever (formerly known as Lever Brothers) as a training officer in marketing; he was later promoted to principal training officer at the company.

He married MaKhumalo, a woman from the Mntungwa clan, and continued his studies, completing a diploma in human resources management through the University of South Africa, after which he was promoted to human resources manager at Unilever. Because he came into contact with people who spoke diverse African languages, he felt a need to know more about these languages. His company afforded him a year to study towards an honours degree, after which he enrolled for a master's degree in African languages at the University of Natal. In the 1980s he resigned from Unilever and took up a position in the Department of isiZulu at the University of Natal. This was where he worked until his retirement. When he passed away in 2005, he was in the process of writing a book titled Isiziba Esinzonzo, ‘Deep River’.

Zondi wrote two dramas, Ukufa kukaShaka (1960) and Insumansumane (1986). The plays focus on two different periods in the history of the Zulu nation. The first is about the death of Shaka, the builder of the Zulu nation, who reigned from 1816 to 1828. The second play explores a historical event, the Bhambatha Rebellion of 1906 in which the British defeated an army of Zulu warriors. Both plays demonstrate the importance of negotiation among leaders, something that remains key in black nations even today.