PROFILE: Wits alumni making waves as a creative multi-hyphenate

Sibusisiwe Gugu Manqele. Photo: Supplied/Skinnie’s Gallery.

Thespian’s compassion and talent at the forefront of mourners’ memories

The Joburg Theatre was packed, as Mpho Sebeng’s life was celebrated by family, friends, and industry peers.

The Joburg Theatre was the last stage Sebeng performed on, and it became the place where his life would be reflected upon and honoured at his memorial service on Thursday, May 9.

On May 5, 2024 Sebeng was involved in a fatal accident at Potchefstroom in the North West Province.

Sebeng’s acting career started at the age of 12 in a primary school play. He achieved full colours for Drama at only 17-years-old and his first television debuts were on “Justice for all” and “Zero Tolerance” which both won multiple awards.

Faces from the entertainment industry including Rosemary Zimu, Thato Dithebe, Mandisa Jakavula, and others were in attendance. Sebeng’s high school mates, teachers, and friends in the industry shared fond memories.

“His power and purpose sat in his ability to speak life into every single one of us,” said Reabetswe Tsobane, a friend from high school.

“You could’ve met Mpho for two minutes and you would have left with something,” Tsobane added.

Sebeng was not known as one to hold grudges. Conversations would often be defused with funny dance moves he would make to lighten up the mood.

His recent nickname “Luse” was based on a lesson his former high school mate learnt from him, “to let go of grudges, anger and pain, and to love loosely”.

Sebeng was described as a deeply compassionate gentleman who always put the interests of others before his own. In his matric year 2011, Sebeng came up with a song to help other learners understand and memorise the quadratic mathematics formula.

He was a serious actor that respected his craft. As a television actor, his debut stage performance at the Joburg Theatre was described as marvellous.

He tackled challenging roles, portraying Johnny in Athol Fugard’s “Nongogo” and performing in Shakespeare’s “Othello.” His portrayal was described to be one of excellence, as he skilfully navigated the psychological intricacies of both characters.

Mzwakhe Mbuli, also known as Robot Boii, shared a quote Sebeng shared with them: “Stay in school; God is good. Love your mama, respect your parents and be kind.”

As many share screenshots of their last conversation with Sebeng, one thing is common, he was never afraid to tell people that he loved them. Sebeng was laid to rest at Westpark Cemetary in Roodepoort on Saturday, May 11.

Living legend given his flowers  

The entertainment industry greats paid tribute to one of South Africans great actors, John Kani at his birthday celebration. 

Award winning actor, director, playwright, and Wits honorary doctorate receiver John Kani celebrated his 80th birthday in a packed theatre. The celebration took place in his namesake, the John Kani theatre, in the Market Theatre laboratory on August 30.  

The event was opened with a performance by the South African jazz musician Sipho ‘Hotstix’ Mabuse, followed by an address by Atandwa Kani, his son and an actor in his own right. “We all here to celebrate this big man’s birthday on behalf of the family, I just want to say tata, happy birthday Mlotshane,” he said.  

Atandwa Kani performing The Island. Photo: Aphelele Mbokotho

The Van Toeka Af living legends recognition series is an initiative by the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture’s which recognises living legends and the work they have done. Dr Kani’s 60 year career in the dramatic arts played out on stage.  

The celebration included different snippets of theatre work that Kani had worked on and won accolades for, among these performances was the infamous Sizwe Banzi is Dead, performed by Atandwa and Nathienal Ramabulana on the night. The play co-written by Athol Fugard, Winston Ntshona and Kani, explored the themes of identity, self-worth, racism, and suppression.  

This is the play that won the Tony Award for the best play in 1975. It premiered in October of 1972 and ran 52 times in New York, winning the award three years later.  

Kodwa spoke fondly about Kani and the work he has done for art and how he has used art to inspire change through his work during the apartheid and post-apartheid era. “He is the living testament to the power of art, to inspire change, to transcend boundaries and to foster unity,” he said. 

Another outstanding theatre performance of Shakespeare’s Othello was performed by Atandwa, Kate Liquorish and Michael Richard. In 1987, Kani’s role as Othello, in particular the infamous kiss shared with Desdemona (a white woman) in the play, faced backlash. The kiss came just two years after laws prohibiting interracial marriages and sex were repealed by the Apartheid government. But segregation was still so ingrained, that many audience members walked out during performances reported the Chicago Tribune at the time.


Atandwa Kani and Kate Liquorish performing Othello. Photo: Aphelele Mbokotho

Kani wrapped up the evening with a performance of a play he wrote called “Nothing but the Truth” which looked at the relationship complexities between the black people that stayed in South Africa and the ones that went into exile.  

After his performance he made a speech on the importance of sustainability in the arts. “We have to industrialise the arts, it cannot be a side job because we don’t want to do a BSc [Bachelor of Sciences], it has to be a business, an industry that I can tell my children yes because you’re going to survive, make money and be rich.”  

FEATURED IMAGE: John Kani sits down to have an interview with Wits Vuvuzela. Photo: Nonhlanhla Mathebula

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PROFILE: Passion for storytelling takes filmmaker abroad 

From almost dropping out of high school to focus on his rap career, film and TV master’s student is participating in leadership programme to benefit his production company.  

A Wits master’s in film and television student is headed to the USA after winning a spot in the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders

Siyavuya Mfenqa will take part in the six-week programme hosted by the University of Delaware in Newark – starting on June 16 – that brings together young leaders from every country in sub-Saharan Africa to the US for academic and leadership training. 

He first applied for the fellowship in 2017 after completing a diploma in dramatic arts the previous year at the Durban University of Technology (DUT), but his application was unsuccessful. He decided to apply again in 2022 while pursuing an honours in film and television at Wits University because he “felt ready” adding that “the work I’ve done over the years was sufficient enough” and now, he is in the 2023 cohort. “This time around I was more confident, and my work spoke for itself,” he said.  

He said he was looking forward to gaining leadership skills that he can implement in his production company – Ntuli Films which he named after his clan names – and networking with others in the programme. “My dream is to grow my production company into one that employs young creatives in the country and tells authentic African stories.” 

The 28-year-old filmmaker was born in Kokstad, a KwaZulu-Natal town on the border with Eastern Cape. He said that he used to write songs in high school and perform them at school functions. In grade 10 he “wanted to quit school and become a rapper”. 

He is currently working on a master’s research project on cancel culture which is “the mass withdrawal of support from public figures or celebrities who have done things that are not socially accepted today”. 

Mfenqa’s research focuses on how certain individuals in the entertainment industry have been shunned for things they have been accused of doing in their personal lives and how these have tarnished their professional reputations. He added that “Cancel culture holds people accountable for their actions but it can also be detrimental if people are wrongfully accused.” 

While pursuing a diploma in dramatic arts at DUT which he completed in 2016, he realised that he enjoyed writing more than he did acting because “acting does not give you the platform to tell your own stories and to be in control of the narrative”. He decided to come to Wits six years because “I wanted to move to Joburg and felt that Wits would be the perfect fit for me.” 

Last year, the KZN Film Commission funded his trip to Rwanda where he pitched a film to distributors at a festival hosted by the Rwanda Film Office – where filmmakers from all over the continent pitch their ideas to large distributors such as M-Net and Netflix, in hopes of obtaining information and assistance with promoting and developing their audiovisual projects.  He received endorsements from distributors for his film.  

“The film that I took to Rwanda and am currently working on is a film I wrote six years ago. I’m still working on this idea because I believe that it is going to change my life.” 

He told Wits Vuvuzela that being committed has helped him get this far. “Sometimes you stay without a job, but you feel that you have this million-dollar idea, so you keep pushing”.  

Throughout his six years of being in the film industry, he has worked as an assistant director on various productions such as Imbewu: The Seed on eTV, and Gqom Nation on MTV Base. 

Presently he is working as an assistant producer for Yellowbone Entertainment, a Safta Golden Horn award-winning film production company.  

Theatre director and actor Othembele Nomgca who is Mfenqa’s friend, said, “Siyavuya’s way of writing and telling a story is very authentic …”, adding that Mfenqa “goes into detail over things that people usually overlook”.   

Younger brother, Yongama Mfenqa (16) who is currently in grade 11, said although the family had concerns about Mfenqa’s choice in studying drama regarding “what it will do for him”, they started being more supportive of his career “after seeing him on MTV and BET.” 

Nomgca added that “Siyavuya is a genuinely caring person and very funny. One thing he is not though, is agreeable. He does not just agree to anything to please anyone.” 

The once aspiring rapper has managed to make quite a name for himself in ways much greater than his high school self could have imagined.

FEATURED IMAGE: Siyavuya Mfenqa at an orientation workshop for the Mandela Washington Fellowship at The Capital Hotel in Sandton on June 1. Photo: Supplied

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SLICE: Politicians to the left; influencers, right! 

The hiring of influencers by political parties deprives voters of the opportunity to interrogate what politicians have to offer.  

With the 2024 elections around the corner, politicians can be expected to use celebrities and influencers to persuade South Africans to vote for their parties.  

Celebrities have become central figures in modern politics globally by using their influence to lead party campaigns and social awareness campaigns. South Africa is not a stranger to this kind of culture. In the 2019 elections, celebrities such as Bonang Matheba took to Instagram with the likes of Cyril Ramaphosa, the ANC presidential candidate, telling followers to follow their lead and vote for the ANC

Four years after the success of Ramaphosa’s campaign, Matheba is singing a different tune about how the ANC has failed the country. This proves that she did not have the expertise to make any politically influential statements in the first place because now she is calling for Ramaphosa to resign. 

The fusion of politics and pop culture has not served our democracy well as thousands of people would have taken endorsement of politicians by Matheba, DJ Zinhle and the late Kiernan Forbes at face value rather than interrogating their utterances.  

Some celebrities even take the baton and run with it into politics, as proven by Donald Trump who moved from The Apprentice showto the White House as the US president. Media reports slammed his term in office because of a lack of expertise to make the right decisions that even saw him refusing intelligence briefings that were crucial for his position.

Brookings, a public policy organisation based in Washington, USA reported that his lack of understanding of the political space made Trump to shut down resources such as the global health security team that would have helped minimise the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. “Most American presidents fail when they cannot comprehend the government they inherit,” the organisation said. 

Recently in South Africa we have witnessed Kenny Kunene who became famous in 2014 for eating sushi off naked women become an acting mayor of Johannesburg for a day at the beginning of May. Questions of his capability to carry out the duties were raised because of his position as an entertainer. I was one of those who questioned what made him drop the chopsticks and move into politics and why he was entrusted with such responsibility.   

An article in the journal Political Psychology highlighted that “Research has shown that a politician’s involvement in a scandalous behaviour can severely damage candidate evaluations and may also decrease voting intentions.” This could cause voters to have mistrust when celebrities move from the entertainment industry to politics.  

This raises the issue whether politicians should stick to being public servants and celebrities remain influencers and entertainers. But what qualifies one to be a politician? In 2018 the Mail & Guardian reported  that “Many MPs insisted that educational qualifications are not the key to a seat in Parliament — being a good politician is what counts.”

The South African Constitution gives everyone the right to freedom of expression, but that right comes with responsibility. During the 2024 elections, I would like to see less of influencers in the political space and if we do see them, they should be aware that words have meaning. They should educate themselves about the parties they are endorsing to their followers.

I would like to see more politically present politicians with a focus on service delivery rather than those with a social media presence. South Africa is dealing with crises of water and electricity among many challenges. As a voter I would rather know what the different parties plan to do to solve these rather than listen to celebrities who see politics as the next paid campaign. 

FEATURED IMAGE: Aphelele Mbokotho. Photo: File

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REVIEW: The Old and Beautiful return to the stage 

A fantastic performance riddled with anecdotal but relatable scenes, tied together with beautiful music, making it a must watch for theatre lovers. 

Wits University School of Arts lecturer, Fiona Ramsay and pianist Tony Bentel perform at the Iyabuya iPOPArt festival to showcase their talents and successful careers with over 35 years in the South African entertainment industry. 

The talents of Ramsay and Bentel’s Old and the Beautiful, helped wrap up the festival as the final act on March 30 and 31, 2023, at the Red Roof Theatre in Milpark. The festival had a three month run from January 2023, with performances from a range of artists at various venues.  

Wits School of Arts lecturer, Fiona Ramsay and pianist Tony Bentel smiling and posing for the camera on stage with a spotlight lighting up their faces before their Old and Beautiful performance at the AFDA Red Roof Theatre in Milpark during the Iyabuya Festival on March 31, 2023.
Photo: Georgia Cartwright

The show opened with a spotlight centered on Ramsay surrounded by props of head statues bejeweled with fancy gems indicating wealth, with Bentel playing an upbeat tune. The pair then moved quickly into the next scene with jokes about how covid-19 gave people the ability to hide their identities because of the thousands of masks that were purchased, a joke received with loud, unmasked guffaws.  

Ramsay and Bentel put on a show filled with humorous anecdotes related to the covid-19 pandemic, unemployment, loadshedding, gender inequality, and the unavoidable fact of getting old. The dynamic duo made reference to the well-known works of Marianne Faithfull and singing “Maybe this time” in their reenactment of the Broadway show Cabaret

Each scene in the performance draws upon different issues people face in South Africa while adding a witty twist to create the ultimate form of escapism. The show begins with, “Who doesn’t want to be rich,” a song about struggles artists face when looking for work and the reality of unemployment in the arts industry. The stage props help set each scene with props of clown noses worn by Ramsay and Bentel to indicate that the real jokes are themselves for believing they could have successful careers in the arts but that their optimism, along with a little dope, helps them cope. 

While the show deals with dull, often depressing topics, it also manages to make light of these issues through a satirical lens. When asked for their thoughts by Wits Vuvuzela, one audience member called it, “depressingly humorous”. Ramsay brings unique characters to life, such as Denise from an old age home in Welkom, who is staring “death” in the face while reliving her memories. The soundtrack to this is a mix of dramatic and calm classical music played by Bentel, which perfectly scores the emotional scenes as they unfold.  

The stage is set with props and rugs from Bentel’s lounge, the stage of the pair’s first performance together eight years ago.  Ramsay describes their act as a “satirical look on the madness of life,” and says that “if you don’t laugh, you get too stiff and serious but if you laugh, you are able to escape a little and move forward.” 

The lighting changes for each scene and seems to reflect the emotions felt in every act – blue for the sadness and loneliness felt when getting old and red for the frustration brought on by loadshedding and potholes. Each scene tells a story of its own while adding the razzle dazzle qualities associated with theatre, a truly spectacular experience.  

When asking the event organiser, Hayleigh Evans said the show exceeded her expectations, and going forward she hopes, “[Having] a live and consistent, permanent program where performers can thrive”, will bring people together.  

Ramsay and Bentel are currently both working on projects of their own but plan on having many more magical performances together in the future. 

FEATURED IMAGE: Wits School of Arts lecturer Fiona Ramsay singing during her performance of the Old and Beautiful at AFDA’s Red Roof Theatre in Milpark during the Iyabuya Festival on March 31. Photo: Georgia Cartwright

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