TV personality now runs his own shoe business
ELEVEN years ago, Mpendulo Buthelezi got his big break on the SABC 1 show Jika Majika, a dance show where people would show off their skills, until one was crowned the winner.
But the 34-year-old has turned his back on the entertainment industry, selling shoes at the Newtown Junction in Joburg.
Although he appeared in Jika Makija, which was popular with the youth for seven years running, Buthelezi had to leave because he couldn’t get gigs.
After he was replaced with kwaito star Mzambiya, Buthelezi looked for other gigs, but was unsuccessful. He went for audition after audition, but all he got was rejection.
Fortunately, a shoe business he started with a friend in 2006 was able to sustain him when the Jika Majika cheques stopped coming.
But not being able to get back into the entertainment industry and the constant rejection left him embittered.
He expressed his dissatisfaction with the media and entertainment industry, saying that people were now only hired based on who they know, which he found to be unfair.
“It makes me feel like I’ve fallen from grace, but here’s the thing… grace is always sufficient. It is all a matter of who you are aligned to. I know my time is coming,” he said.
Buthelezi’s short-lived time in the entertainment industry began at the SABC in the early 2000s, when he worked as an intern promotions producer at SABC 1.
Despite learning all the ropes and excelling, he was discouraged, because he felt as if his “genius” was not recognised after serving in the same role for three years, without receiving a salary or recognition.
“An elderly man from my suburb (Meadowlands) took me to a local shoe factory, where we currently outsource and produce shoes and from then on I joined the party,” he said.
But after putting his days in entertainment industry behind him, he got a call that would change his fortunes.
A producer of Jika Majika told him the show was looking for a siSwati-speaking presenter. He didn’t have to audition as he had been spotted at SABC 1 when he worked there as an intern producer.
Every day at 7.30pm, Buthelezi and his co-host Thembi Seete would be on the TV screens of millions of South Africans, introducing those who fancied themselves as the country’s top dancers, with the pair also pulling a few moves themselves.
Following a seven-year run in the show, Buthelezi’s contract was not renewed.
His attempts to get back into the industry have been unsuccessful and he is now solely focused on his shoe business.
“It has not been easy. Before I found premises, I would sell shoes outside the Newtown Mall. Sometimes it would rain or I would stand in the sun for hours, but I prayed to God for a shop and he finally heard me.”
Apart from the financial difficulties, Buthelezi said there were challenges inherent in his trade, including the lack of equipment and leasing premises.
Although he is no longer in the limelight, the former TV personality said he would definitely go back into the industry, as some of the lessons he learnt in that domain were applicable in his shoe business.
“I interact with my clients, so in a way it’s not far off… it is just a different platform,” he said.
He would love to get back into show business