The Sunday News
Ngqwele Dube, Sunday Leisure Correspondent
A HOLIDAY visit to Bulawayo for a young, Nkululeko Innocent Dube, who was then based in rural Mangwe in Matabeleland South saw him develop his first passion for art when he became enthralled by puppets.
Dube’s sojourns to the city meant he had the delight of watching a travelling puppet master, Phephezela in Pelandaba and Mpopoma as he moved around entertaining children with his dancing puppets attached to guitar strings.
The dolls would move in unison with the rhythm of the guitar being strummed by Phephezela, creating a spectacle for the kids.
Dube, Iyasa’s director, says the fascination with the puppets saw him teaming up with his uncle, Pritchard Tshuma, his peer, to create their own, although made of various materials including paw-paws and instead of using a guitar to gyrate the dolls, they placed them between their toes and travelled around his maternal village in Ngulubeni entertaining villagers and in the process making his first money from art.
“We got to make about five cents wherever we performed. Although thinking about careers was far off for me then, it was the first time I fell in love with something related to art,” said Dube who is turning 40 on 25 October.
Dube moved in with his parents after his father started lecturing at the then Gweru Teachers College in Senga in the Midlands capital and he found himself in Senga Primary’s drama club.
He later moved to Matshayiskhova in Luveve where his interest in arts blossomed and although he was intrigued by dancing, he was not so adept at the craft and would only take to the dance floor in the dark of the night.
“Personally I never danced at any stage in my arts career. I only moved my feet when I was with my friends and in the dark where few people would see me. We would visit my rural home during holidays and coming from the city always gave us some air of superiority, we always seemed to get the attention of the girls but the only dance I was comfortable doing was pantsula after I fell in love with South African singer, Peta Teanet. Despite the fact he sang in Shangaan which I didn’t understand, I would sing every line,” he said.
NID, as Dube is popularly known, said he sharpened the artiste in him when he moved to Mzingwane High School in Esigodini for his secondary education where he met Babongile Skhonjwa and they teamed up with Nhlanhla Mpofu (now a medical doctor) to rejuvenate the school’s drama club. He says they transformed the group into an arts club incorporating various forms of art beyond drama.
“We found a straight forward drama club doing plays written by established artistes like Wole Soyinka but we changed it when Nhlanhla penned a play about Steve Biko titled Jailhouse which also incorporated dance and music and we toured several schools with the play.
“We then took it to Amakhosi during a programme called Umkhosi Wabatsha and when (Amakhosi director) Cont Mhlanga approached us after the act, we were excited thinking he would want to enlist our services but to our disappointment he simply told me I would be a radio disc jockey and Skhonjwa would be a comedian,” said Dube.
After writing his Ordinary Level examinations, NID visited relatives in South Africa and they took him to watch a production titled Woza Albert by acclaimed South African arts practitioner, Mbongeni Ngema at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg.
The show made him revere Ngema, who even to this day remains his inspirational icon in the arts.
On hearing that the movie Sarafina was on the verge of being shot, Dube made efforts to wiggle his way into the cast, even securing a slot on Durban-based radio station, Ukhozi FM, but his efforts were futile as he discovered casting had been completed. He managed to secure an “internship” role behind the scenes playing assistant in various roles.
“Being on the set of Sarafina was majestic, it opened a whole new world that I was yet to come into contact with but my Advanced Level studies were beckoning and I had to come back to Zimbabwe.
“I was still confused on the career path to pursue after school but I later enrolled at Hillside Teachers College, doing English and Drama. After completing my studies I went into teaching and ended up at Mpopoma High and the arts beckoned again as I took charge of the drama club and turned it into a force to reckon with,” he said.
Dube said the decision to go into full time arts was not easy but after consulting family and friends including Albert Nyathi, he decided to take the leap after being invited to a children’s festival in Austria in 2003.
Dube said while the bulk of the pupils at Mpopoma went on to form Iyasa, he was introduced to Nomathamsanqa Mkhwananzi, then a pupil at Sobukhazi, by one of his vocalists, Tsungie Tsikira, and the former’s vocal prowess mesmerised him and swept him off his feet.
“I immediately saw her as my Sarafina,” he says and that was the beginning of a relationship that would, however, be eclipsed by the lovers’ arts careers.
Noma got an opportunity to join an international circus; Mother Africa along with two other Iyasa members, Siphephiso and Silethemba Magonya and their travelling schedule meant she was away from home for long periods.
“Noma played a great role in that she supported me during the early critical stages of my arts career but their schedule on the circus meant she was away for long periods and that distance got too much for us, although at one point she thought of leaving the circus, it was not to be.
“We have a son together, Mbongeni, named obviously after Ngema and despite buying him various arts instruments, such as a piano, his inclination is towards sport and is into soccer, swimming and basketball. He (Mbongeni) is 12 this year and I think he is heading for the football pitch because he is good in the sport,” added Dube.
NID says he has moved on and is now in a relationship that is seven years old but he doesn’t want to reveal the name of his better half saying she is a shy person, who prefers keeping out of the spotlight.
“She would not forgive me if I name her, but we get along well and we are strong together, I am happy I would say. While initially I would get angry at being in the spotlight I realise being a public person meant the media would at one time or another focus on you,” he said.
An avid Manchester United fan, NID says he has bought every new shirt the club has released each season since joining the ranks of the team’s supporters in 1997 and his love for the England side saw him attend a match at Old Trafford in 2003, when Newcastle were visiting.
Locally, Dube supports Highlanders but feels the club has taken a different trajectory that is hindering the club’s success.
“Maybe we need to move with the times as a club and adopt international practices but my heart is firmly with the club although I’m disheartened by its recent performances. Although Manchester stuttered following Alex Ferguson’s departure, I think we are getting it right and the worst position the team can attain this season is number two,” he said, with a confident voice.
When not at work, Dube loves interacting with fellow artistes and members of his group, going for braais on weekends although he says he is a light drinker. He also loves watching football on television.
