MAN ON FIRE!
Nkunzi tries to murder Qhabanga in shack blaze
Nkunzi (Masoja Msiza) lashes out with fire and fury after he finds out how his family deceived and stole from him. And in a way, he achieves his goal – the Qhabanga (Siyabonga Shibe) who emerges from the flames of the shack fire that Nkunzi sets is not his brother; he’s a new man. “This has happened because Nkunzi doesn’t let you slide [when you betray him]. He pretends that he is prepared to forgive him and Qhabanga is really suspicious of that. But eventually Nkunzi drugs Qhabanga and takes him to burn him in the shack and, in actual fact, murder him. This is a changing point for Qhabanga. This is the point when he is born anew. Miraculously though, Qhabanga survives the blaze because God shows him the light and tells him, ‘This is not over, my son. Go back and try to do good in the community’,” reveals Siyabonga.
THE BURNING BUSH
Qhabanga has been preying on the Kingdom Community Church members the for the past year. But the man who rises from the ashes of his brother’s hatred as February starts will be praying for real. “In the shack, he dreams of MaNzuza (Leleti Khumalo) telling him that God says that he must change, that he must transform. When he wakes up, he ‘knows’ that he is dead. He sees himself looking down at his own body. When his spirit goes back to his physical body and he walks out of the shack, he lays down his shackles. Right there, Qhabanga cuts off being this notorious Kwamashu thug, being this manipulator and he decides, ‘I am going to be good, by God!’” reveals Siyabonga enthusiastically. “Fire really is symbolic. It’s dangerous but it brings life as well. Qhabanga, being the sinner that he was, expected to go to Hell. And Hell is associated with fire. But it also transforms for the better. Like the sun, it brings life to Earth.”
COCKROACHES & NKUNZI
But while Qhabanga believes that the fire burnt away the brotherhood between himself and Nkunzi, real life is not as simple as symbols – not when your brother has a child with the woman that you love! “That’s a destroyer. Because Qhabanga tries hard not to be associated with his brother. But that link always comes. That irritating link! It will always be there, as much as Qhabanga wants to move away from Nkunzi, Nkunzi is just there. He’s like a nagging cockroach,” warns Siyabonga with amused exasperation.