Becoming inkabi
Wiseman Mncube talks about meeting real-life hitmen and stepping into the world of the hostels.
eHostela Season 1 Sundays Mzansi Magic (*161) 20:00
Mancinza (Bheki Sibiya) reaped the whirlwind in late January and just four episodes into eHostela (2019current) when he was murdered by his psychotic son Jama ( Wiseman Mncube), who stabbed the head of secretive inkabi (hitmen) organisation The Brotherhood to death for passing him over in favour of his brother Mndeni (Thobani Nzuza). “Jama is a reckless boy. But he has taken so much from his father. His father didn’t see that he himself was also like that,” points out Wiseman. “Jama thought that was the way to carry on, because his father was a leader, his father had carried himself like that and took Jama into this other world with guns and what-what-what. He was the one who made this boy what he is today.” Jama still has no regrets this fortnight about shoving a knife in his father’s guts and seizing control of The Brotherhood, who operate from the Delafuka Hostel. “It does not affect him at all! He just takes over and things become worse. He carries on killing and killing until the very end,” reveals Wiseman. “He takes over the entire hostel and breaks the rules that his father created. He becomes crazy. It’s like pouring petrol over a small fire,” says the actor.
THE REAL IZINKABI
Violence was definitely the solution when it came to breathing life into the character. But Wiseman found himself turning Jama through 360 degrees from when he first read about the series,
to when he researched the world of izinkabi and hostels, to when he looked into the details of who Jama actually was. “I automatically thought that this guy would carry himself like a criminal. When I grew up, I was told about hitmen, these hard Zulu men who are big and aggressive and violent and strong. I thought I knew, but I knew nothing! The way the system works is far different from what most of us know from our parents,” insists Wiseman. For the truth, he turned to the men who’d lived the life first-hand – thanks to eHostela’s production team, who organised for the cast to meet real-life izinkabi. “I did research about the whole thing and sat down and spoke to a couple of guys around here who are izinkabi and they took me to places just to get the feel of the whole thing,” says the actor.
CAREFUL KILLERS
“They grew up under that life, where political parties used to fight against each other back in the day. That was where hitmen used to work more and that’s what created them as hitmen. They were being hired by political parties to kill other political people. To me, it’s a crazy life, but when they think about it, it’s so normal. When we spoke to the actual hitmen, they were the total opposite of what I was thinking,” says Wiseman. “It’s someone you’d never think that he’s a hitman. It is shocking. The way he speaks, the way he carries himself – he’s just a normal guy. And then they tell you, ‘Yesterday or last week I had a job, I had to wake up at night and do this thing…’” Wiseman gives a shocked laugh. “They don’t like sharing their stories. They are very, very cultural people, very respectful. They are most humble, quiet, loving and caring. They hate violence, they hate people who steal and people who abuse other people. It’s just that they get hired to kill. They treat it like a job.”
But then Jama is no ordinary inkabi. “The role that I am playing is the opposite. Reckless and rude everywhere. I kill any time. If you fight with Jama, I will just take out the gun and shoot you. So with what they told me about izinkabi being respectful and all of that, I took it around to do the opposite to get the role that I was supposed to portray,” explains Wiseman.
PROTECTION
Wiseman played out this role in front of what might have been one of the most hostile audiences he’d faced, as the series was shot inside the real-life KwaMashu Hostel. “As much as you want to know, it’s dangerous because we were told that the hitmen do not like people to know what is happening. And they allowed us in the main hostel in KwaMashu where everyone is scared to go. They were always around us, protecting us. And they were guiding us. It was so useful and I was so grateful because it’s a very sensitive story to talk about. When we were shooting eHostela, they [the izinkabi] told us they will hire their own guys who stay in eHostela to be our guards because they don’t want anyone else coming in or out. They want to control the whole thing and they have hired their own people to protect us in eHostela,” says Wiseman.
THE LION’S MOUTH
“When you walk into the hostel, you feel the second you enter that, yoh, this place is another world,” adds the actor. “You are being watched all the time. They are always aware of what is happening around them and they know who’s who. They can tell if you are not from them and if you are not from here. They’re asking themselves, ‘ Who is he, why is he here what is he here to do?” In that tense atmosphere, Wiseman was aware that he had to tread carefully – as in prison. “The people who stay in eHostela, I think they are angry, they are always angry. I don’t know why. People laugh all the time but you don’t want to step on their feet because they will slip just like that. I wouldn’t think it wise for any young man to come stay here. The place itself can easily change you to become this other person,” he adds.
UNTOLD STORIES
“This production has meant so much, because you step into another world, a world that you didn’t know about. Growing up, you heard about these stories but no one actually spoke about eHostela. So this production went deep, deep into the world and they drew out everything,” Wiseman adds in wonder.