Themba Siwela: Artist behind The Citizen’s ‘provocative’ cartoons

Cartoonist and illustrator Themba Siwela turns a variety of hard news headlines into thought-provoking visuals.

With over two decades in the game, his pen and paper have earned him a spot as one of the leading cartoonists in the country, using humour and art to illustrate news events and spark conversations.

As he sat for this interview, responding to a question about what fascinates him about his work, Siwela said: “Everyday I deal with different matters and that is what I find interesting. It brings a lighter side of complex issues.”

Born in KwaMashu in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, his journey began as a young boy with the love for drawing. He was inspired by his elder brother, who was also an artist.

“I grew up in the township when others were out playing, I was busy fiddling with paper, drawing. My elder brother was an artist, and that’s where I inherited and honed most of my skills. As young as three or four, I was already passionate about drawing,” Siwela reflected.

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The passion became a calling. “I realised then that I was gifted, and it was something I wanted to pursue. I remember a teacher asked us what we wanted to do when we grew up. Other kids said they wanted to be doctors or lawyers. I proudly said I wanted to be a big artist. The teacher scolded me and said he didn’t expect artists in his class, only professionals,” Siwela said.

Undeterred, he pursued his dream with a determination to prove that art could be a viable career.

His talent flourished under the mentorship of his high school art teacher Paul Sibisi, at Mzuvele Secondary School in KwaMashu, the only school in the township that offered art as a subject. Together, they worked on numerous projects, submitting entries to national competitions during school holidays.

Their efforts paid off, winning them their first competition sponsored by Colgate and later cash prizes, including R15 000 in a BMW-sponsored competition.

“That moment with my teacher fuelled me. He and the support my mother gave me made me believe that I would one day achieve this dream.”

After high school, Siwela joined the Durban Cartoon Project in early 2000s, an arts development initiative based at Artworks Communication in the city. “There were no proper schools to attend,” he said. “I was already illustrating books, especially for children, but I fell in love with cartooning while working with comics.

“The Durban Cartoon Project offered classes on professional cartooning, like character development and storytelling. It was one of the few programmes teaching cartooning back then.”

The young man who was still producing art pieces from the kitchen of his township home he shared with the rest of his extended family, recalls how he unexpectedly struck gold. In 2002, he took over a comic strip for Bona Magazine called The Bafanas ‘Majimbos’ after the original artist died. This led to the creation of the daily strip Mzansi for the Sowetan and contributions to Mshana and other publications.

He also used his skills to create educational comic strips for public health, education and safety programmes, including the CHAMP Project for the Human Sciences Research Council and McCord’s Hospital in collaboration with the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Siwela’s achievements extended beyond South Africa. His work took him to Switzerland and London on exchange programmes while several of his pieces featured in ground-breaking exhibitions such as the Fumeletto Exhibition in Switzerland (2004), the Transatlantic Exhibition in South Africa and London (2004).

Back home, he has featured in exhibitions including Journey 1 at the BAT Centre (2007), the Abelumbi Exhibition at Durban Art Gallery (2004) and Journey 3 at the African Art Centre (2009).

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In 2011, Siwela joined The Citizen as a daily cartoonist after freelancing for The Mercury and Sowetan. Since then, he has crafted a mix of hard news cartoons and illustrations, earning him recognition as a finalist in the Standard Bank Sikuvile Awards in 2012 and receiving a commendation in 2015.

Siwela said his work was inspired by life itself. “My late brother was my first inspiration, but I’ve also been influenced by the late Trevor Makhoba. Many of my paintings reflect social life, especially in townships and rural areas,” he said.

“In political cartooning, there’s so much happening in this country, political developments, historical moments and difficult periods. Cartoons are a powerful tool to educate, inform and even bring humour to serious issues.”

Asked about his favourite work, Siwela chuckled: “I’ve done so many cartoons, honestly. Some have been controversial and others celebrated. It’s hard to pick just one because I have thousands of cartoons.”

His eyes are set on publishing his body of work for future generations. “I would like to have a big collection of my cartoons, in the form of a book,” he said. “But I also see myself doing animation. Doing moving cartoons is also fun.”

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