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Mbulelo Mpofu, Chronicle Reporter
EVERYBODY remembers 2008 for different reasons. This was an era that saw Zimbabwe succumb to arguably the worst economic meltdown in its history. On the entertainment front, this was a year that popular soapie Izolo Yizolo abruptly stopped airing on ZBCtv.

Financial constraints and other new work commitments that the soapie’s scriptwriter and producer Thoko Zulu had to undertake, including being the director of Intwasa Arts Festival left the continuity of Izolo Yizolo in serious doubt.

With Zulu’s confirmation of the temporary suspension of the soapie, the end of the road was a stone-throw away and for a stellar cast spearheaded by Lindiwe Kumalo who played Mafuyane in the production, the future seemed bleak.

In fact, this was the last time we saw and heard of Mafuyane on our television sets and the age-old question has been about her whereabouts.

So, where did Mafuyane, wife to Mpofu (also a poet) in the soapie, go?

When push came to shove, the need for greener pastures was imminent, inevitable even and this led to a mass exodus of people to other countries, notably South Africa and Mafuyane saw herself in the City of Gold as she tried to take care of her family.

Saturday Leisure this week caught up with Mafuyane. With a smile plastered on her face, Lindiwe was ready to recollect how it all began from her childhood leading to the day she landed the Mafuyane character and what she is doing now.

“It all started way back in the day where a rural girl in Silobela had huge artistic dreams to fulfill. I believe that I was born for arts because, at a tender age, I embraced theatre and would compete in school plays that were conducted in the assembly area. My team would always come up trumps. The sky was always the limit for me growing up,” she said.

The yesteryear celebrity relished awareness campaign short dramas that they made to conscientise people about certain conditions and diseases that affected people.

“Be it Aids, TB, cholera or any other disease you may think of, we would act out how they infect people and how they could be prevented. This further solidified my presence in the theatre scene as we (my team and I) would seldom lose,” attested Mafuyane.

During the interview, her phone rang and the person on the other side of the phone alluded to Lindiwe as Makhekhenene. Strangely, she did not seem to be baffled by the name. Makhekhenene as she is affectionally known in the publishing and poetic divide, Lindiwe vividly remembers how that moniker came into existence.

“UMakhekhenene libizo engalithola ngikuGrade 6 ngize ngibhale indaba yomuntu owatholakala eleny’indoda ngumkakhe evela edolobheni so lindoda yakhona yayinkulu ‘inguMakhekhenene’ ifihlwe kuwardrobe.”

She went on to take us back to 13 years ago when prime time viewing on ZBCtv was magic and lamented how the film industry in our country has fallen from grace.

Her marital squabbles with Mpofu (her husband on the soapie) were television gold. People would even mimic them and she concedes that the consumption of foreign content has stunted the growth and longevity of Zimbabwe’s film industry.

“Nowadays, people seldom watch our television programmes. Back in the day, people would rush home to watch soap operas such as Sinjalo, Isithembu and Amakorokoza which is a stark contrast from what is happening these days,” said the 56-year-old who is also a poet.

Lindiwe’s love for art contagiously shoots through the roof and she comically acknowledged that her family has a secret code of communication where they mimic characters they see in popular soap operas.

“My children and I are a bunch of comics in the sense that whenever we get time, we impersonate characters from dramas and soap operas. It’s a lot of fun really, even on the phone, we enjoy it. It’s who we are,” chuckled Mafuyane as her daughter joined in the ‘secret code of communication’.

Besides Izolo Yizolo, was there any other drama that Lindiwe appeared on? Her answer was a definite no. Her next endeavour from Izolo Yizolo was managing children’s well-being in a school in Johannesburg, South Africa and also doing other odd jobs on the side.

“Kwakungasayenzi! The bell had tolled and it was my turn to look for greener pastures elsewhere to fend for my children. I landed a post in a school in Joburg as a matron and would also do odd jobs, basically, anything to put food on the table,” is how she would describe what transpired between 2008 to date.

Apart from what we all know, Mafuyane, in the late 90s, made detergents to earn a living and most of us did not know that she is a preacher as well. She also happens to be an author, singer (not that much), entrepreneur and most recently, she began dealing with beads for off-the-cuff merchandise.

Rubbing shoulders with people who are in the upper echelons of the Zimbabwean art industry and history in the form of Pathisa Nyathi, Lindiwe was always poised to flourish since magic runs through her fingers. Whatever she touches seems to turn to pure gold.

Performing at the launch of Pathisa Nyathi’s book entitled, Lozikeyi Dlodlo Queen of the Ndebele: A Very Dangerous and Intriguing Woman was one of the highlights of Lindiwe’s poetic career and she rues the day she missed the chance to perform for then South African President, Jacob Zuma.

“To this day, I rue the day I missed that golden opportunity (performing for Zuma). I cannot recall what exactly happened, but I remember realising that the event had lapsed,” she said.

Her poetic expertise has seen her being invited to weddings and other gatherings and she does this with pure finesse.

It does not matter the time or type of occasion, she is always ready to go.

“I was born ready and sometimes, I don’t even need to brainstorm ideas and write them down. It just flows.”
On the authorship side of things, she joined a few writers associations to hone her craft as she always seemed to have a manuscript but then, for some reason, she ended up not publishing any of the work. As a means of getting that monkey off her back, she recently submitted a short story for the recently-held Intwasa Short Story Competition.

“At school, my teacher would always mark me down whenever we wrote compositions because apparently, instead of writing a page, I would write three. Instead of a standard academic composition, I would rather write what my teacher called a ‘novel’ eventually,” laughed Lindiwe.

Plucking out a pair of red woollen earrings that she made for her daughter, Sarah Bonne, Lindiwe’s eyes lit with joy as she admired her handiwork. Her daughter happens to be the ambassador of Lindiwe’s beadwork business Lelolihle hand-made crafts which focuses on hand-made necklaces, earrings, keyholders and wrist bracelets, just to name a few. Beadwork is what Lindiwe has been busy doing lately.

Like wine in a barrel, Mafuyane has matured with age. Thirteen years away from life behind the camera, the actress believes that she still has it in her. She has not lost her theatrical acumen. She is still that confident woman who will stand her ground no matter what.

Her dream of becoming a renowned actress and a name to conjure with in the arts industry might have been short-lived, but a sure renaissance to her soul’s dearth is on the cards.

Everybody knows what they say about apples and trees. The apple does not fall far from the tree and this is the very reason why the dormant artistic seed that was planted on Lindiwe’s daughter, Sarah has finally borne fruit.

In fact, Lindiwe’s late mother was a poetess too and this generational vein of art has been the family’s blueprint. Following in her mother’s footsteps, Sarah has embraced music and has national recognition to show it for it. For all that success, she thanks Lindiwe for her support.

Lindiwe has a message to parents in relation to supporting their children who are into varied careers. She reckons such a support structure can help springboard children to their dreams.

“Parents usually have a tendency of choosing careers for their children irrespective of how good they may be in other professions of their choosing. I think this is wrong and I implore all parents to encourage their children to go after their dreams. It doesn’t matter if it’s soccer, arts, science, or any other career choice, parents have to support and give sound advice to their children,” entreated Mafuyane.

Given a chance, would Lindiwe get back to the industry that kick-started her illustrious art career? With a nod of the head and a ‘yes’, she reiterated her hunger for life behind the camera, and indeed, she is “open for business”.

“I live and breathe art. I’m definitely up for an acting role and if one pops up, I will gladly grab it by both hands,” is how the matriarch put a lid on the interview. — @eMKlass_49