Emzini Wezinsizwa actor Washington Sixolo dies

Veteran actor Washington Sixolo, popularly known for his role as Jwara in Emzini Wezinsizwa, has passed on. The actor died on Sunday after a long battle with multiple sicknesses, according to his son, Zolani Sixolo, who spoke to Morning Live on Tuesday morning.

On Saturday, he was rushed from his home in Soweto to the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, where he died the following day.

The 83-year-old started acting in the late 1970s, and won a Tonight Acting Award in 1983. He also acted in TV series Shaka Zulu as Bhebhe and Jackie Chan’s Who Am I? as a Zulu king.

In an interview with Morning Live, his son said the family was “getting there” in dealing with the loss.

“Death is not an easy thing, no matter how sick a person was, but through God’s grace, we’re really trying to get there, and we hope in time – you know time is a great healer – that we will get there.

He said his father was bedridden for a long time, and was being taken care of by his mother, the late actor’s wife. The actor’s condition started deteriorating from last month, then on Saturday, it worsened, and he was taken to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital. At 11am on Sunday, he passed away.

“To the world, he was known as ntate Jwara, Jackson Senzekile, but at home, all I can say is that he was the best husband to my mom, and the best father to myself and my siblings.

“One thing we will always remember him for is his sense of humour. Even when he was sick, he still had that sense of humour. People would come home to pay him a visit, and because he could not walk anymore, he would say: ‘Look, why do you come here because I should be paying you a visit?’

“Those are the memories we’ll have of him,” said Zolani.

Veteran actor David Phetoe said Sixolo was like a brother-in-law to him, as his wife came from the same clan as him. “I remember him telling me his history, saying he started at Bethel College singing, and continued with it until he became matured.”

He did a lot of travelling, during which he met his wife, said Phetoe.

Sixolo was a language adviser to some of the productions Phetoe worked with, including Generations.

“It was a marvellous feeling working with it because he took everything personally, and turned it into quality,” said Phetoe.