How Amakhosi, Cont shaped SA icon Hamilton Dlamini’s career

Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter

THOSE that follow South African telenovelas might think that Hamilton Dlamini is an evil man.
Indeed, as the gruff-voiced crime lord Banzi Motaung on Isithembiso, one would have been forgiven for thinking that Dlamini malice was the marrow that filled every bone in his body.

From his voice, to his actions and even his very body movements, Banzi Motaung, until his death at the hands of his former best-friend Kero, seemed the very incarnation of evil.

Even on the eve of his death, after a life of callous evil, Motaung had shown that he had one dastardlier act up his sleeve, plotting to kill his 11-year-old son.

This was clearly a man with a heart of stone and Dlamini executed the role with cold perfection, getting nominated twice for the prestigious South African Television Awards (SAFTA) Golden Horn for the best actor and winning it once in 2018.
Dlamini had already won the same award for his role in 2006’s Like Faith Like Potatoes.

So convincing was Dlamini as a cold-blooded killer that many were convinced that he is the same shameless and conniving predator off screen as well.

However, while Dlamini has blossomed on both the small and big screen over the years, becoming a master of his craft and a well-respected icon, the Deep City actor gives credit to Amakhosi Cultural Centre for helping lay the foundation for the actor who is now often touted as one of the best in Mzansi.

In an interview with Sunday Life deep in Mangwe District, Matabeleland South Province while on a visit to Zimbabwe recently, Dlamini said he was indebted to Zimbabwean creatives that he had exchanged notes with when he toured the country in the 1990s.

“I started coming to Zim around 1990. I liked their theatre because it was original and I would attend all the festivals like HIFA, Intwasa and that’s when I got to meet artistes like Raisedon Baya and Saimon Mambazo. I also worked closely with Amakhosi and that was the basis of our good relationship and my own affiliation with Zimbabwe and up now that is still the case.

“We came for a theatre festival and we brought a show called the Road House that was playing at Stanley Hall. So, during that time Cont Mhlanga asked us to come to his group’s offices and after that we started sharing skills, they would teach us some skills and we would also do the same,” he said.

Dlamini, said at the time, he was impressed with how pure and “untainted” Zimbabwean theatre appeared to be.
“Amakhosi helped sharpen my skills because these guys had some serious skills and dedication to theatre itself. That is something that is rare and so being close to the likes of Cont Mhlanga helped shape to what I would become in future because you have to remember I wasn’t seen as a major actor or icon in those days,” he said.

However, Dlamini said despite their best efforts, the love affair he had with Amakhosi and other Zimbabwean theatre lovers started to fade as funders started pulling out for unspecified political reasons.

“It then became a good relationship that developed over time until it started fading because of funders pulling out. The funders were pulling out for political reasons. We tried to push and continue telling stories but, in the end, we could not go on because of the funding. It’s not good to tell stories on an empty stomach. So that’s what happened.

“We tried to bring back shows like Zambezi Express but it also fizzled out because of the funding issue. We still tried to make sure that South African talent crosses over to Zimbabwe and Zimbabwean talent crosses over to South Africa because this exchange will help our artistes grow with a sense of unity.

So far, we are still divided and as role model I want to show people in South Africa that this thing of diving people does not work and we need to share as Africans,” he said.

While some those who watched him at Stanley Square might remember his roles from back then, Dlamini said those privileged enough to have watched him on stage can proudly say they have witnessed him in his element, as he felt at home on the stage instead of TV, the medium that has given him fame.

“Theatre doesn’t lie; it tells the truth. You can edit things on TV and portray a false image so I just love the honesty of theatre. TV is just to pay the bills and if I had a choice, I wouldn’t do it. Fame to me means nothing, but what matters the most to me is good storytelling. Most people love my role as Banzi Motaung in Isithembiso.

I guess some people love that voice that I use on there.
“Now I’m in Diep City telling the story about people living in Diepsloot in the shacks there. I chose my roles very carefully because I have to appreciate the storytelling wholeheartedly.

I want to execute the journeys of my characters perfectly and if the people are happy with any of my roles, then I am happy. So far no one has criticised any of my roles and people seem to love everything that I do. I want to always deliver the best and good quality at all times,” he said.

Dlamini said while old relationships had faded, he was looking to build new ones, as he felt that he had much more to offer to young people outside South Africa.

He said he would be back in the country to help identify and nurture talent in various fields.
“What heals me is sharing my skills with other people.

If I don’t get an opportunity to share my skills, I get sick and in Johannesburg everyone gets everything so I thought let me take this and give it to people. I have done Swaziland, Botswana and now I am doing Zimbabwe. I enjoying sharing my skills with people.

“I am looking at the youth now and in February or March of next year I will return. We must produce stars from among them and whatever talent they have, we need to enhance it and make sure that they are living off it.

We are going to be doing theatre festivals, film festivals, hip-hop festivals and they have to learn. We are actually going to teach them how to catch a fish and survive in this life time,” he said.