Axing from Uzalo ‘a blessing’
DLAMINI NOW IN LEATHER BUSINESS
FAILURE to land a role in the new season of SABC1 drama series Uzalo and the creative industry’s inconsistent income has prompted one of President Jacob Zuma’s nephews to venture into selling luxury leather bags.
Bonga Dlamini was the star of the first season of one of SABC1’s most-watched drama series.
He played the character of Mkhonto Xulu, a troublesome and murderous brother of Gxabhashe (Mpumelelo Bhulose), leader of a notorious car theft syndicate in KwaMashu, KwaZulu-Natal.
“Of course I was saddened to learn that I would not be featured in the new season of the drama series I loved with all my heart, but life must go on,” said Dlamini. “That is water under the bridge now and you know what they say: ‘When one door closes, another opens’.”
Dlamini is a cousin of the show’s executive producer, Gugu ZumaNcube, one of Zuma’s daughters with African Union Commission chairwoman Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
Dlamini is one of the key actors of the show, including Bhulose. who were shown the door.
He said exiting the drama series was a blessing in disguise because it made him venture into the business of selling luxury bags.
“I’ve always had the idea but because of the busy schedule I had in I could not put the idea into action,” he said.
“My dream of venturing into the business of selling bags was ignited last year when I went to Ethiopia on holiday. I was fascinated by how the country had changed its economic fortunes around by focusing on producing leather goods.
“You cannot rely on acting alone for a living because [it] is not predictable; one minute you’re a star and the next you’re a pauper.”