The doctor & the devil
Welcome to KwaMashu, Sibonelo! Please accept this knife in your liver and a family-sized can of worms.
Church lady Gabisile (Baby Cele) and ganglord Nkunzi’s (Masoja Msiza) secret son Sibonelo (Wiseman Mncube) arrives in town this fortnight and boy, is he in for a shock. “He’s just a mama’s boy coming from Cuba, having studied to be a doctor. He is into cars and drag races and this bombshell of knowing that Nkunzi is his father tears Sibonelo apart,” reveals Wiseman. It’s not like his mother sits him down for a chat either. It’s a drama overdose. “There is nothing but drama and fallouts and breakdowns,” Wiseman breaks out laughing. “It’s too much for the poor boy who really just came home to see his mom and do some community service. It’s a nightmare.”
WELCOME HOME, SON
“He chooses to do community service in KwaMashu because he promised his mom that he’d come and see her because he’s been away for so many years,” explains Wiseman. “He arrives in KwaMashu and he’s stabbed – the first time he is here! The first day he is here. He needs a donor, so Nkunzi donates some liver to him. That’s how he finds out that Nkunzi is his father. He grew up knowing that the man that Gabisile was married to [who was later murdered offscreen] was his father. He is shocked by the news and overwhelmed.” It’s a huge challenge to Sibonelo’s identity.
WHO’S YOUR FATHER?
“He is sad that Gabisile lied to him all these years. And he is so confused and torn apart about living a lie. He asks questions like, ‘Who am I?’ He doesn’t know now and Gabisile doesn’t want to give a proper explanation,” explains Wiseman. “His father was a loving guy, a responsible guy. Sibonelo studied to become a doctor because of his father, because he brought the best out of him and he wanted to become a man like him. He saw his father as his hero, as his role model. For him to know now, to be told by Nkunzi, ‘That guy was not your father, I am your father,’ it breaks him.”