Shilubana fights for the right to speak Xitsonga on television
FUMANI Shilubana is an actor, his name might not yet be a household name, but his face immediately comes to mind when you speak of the tall actor who speaks Xitsonga on television dramas such as Soul City, Generations and Isidingo, to name but a few.
Ntsako Mabunda
LIMPOPO – FUMANI Shilubana is an actor, his name might not yet be a household name, but his face immediately comes to mind when you speak of the tall actor who speaks Xitsonga on television dramas such as Soul City, Generations and Isidingo, to name but a few.
“I have to put my people and my province out there. I want the little kids to say: ‘it’s possible’,” says Shilubana.
It has been a difficult battle to be able to speak his mother-tongue on television. “It has probably lost me a couple of roles and made me enemies in the industry. The producers think I’m stubborn – which I am – but I’m stubborn in a good way,” says Shilubana. This is a fight he has declared he will champion until the day he dies, until it is a norm to hear people speaking Xitsonga on television. In case he ever had doubts whether the fight was worth it, every time he goes home to Shiluvani village near Tzaneen and people praise him for making them proud for putting their language on the map, those doubts would be set aside. The person who is proudest of Shilubana’s accomplishments and persistence has to be Clifford Shilubana, his father.
Having a child who not only passed his matric with good grades, but excelled in mathematics and science, would make any parent proud. And that their child’s future would be made in a career that would offer security and financial stability even more so. Understandably, his father was initially disappointed by his son’s unstable career choice, but Shilubana soon became known as one of the hardest working actors in the industry.
Shilubana understands that fame is a tool to be used to change people’s lives and he uses this by helping people through his FatherFigureZA foundation. This is a non-profit organisation that attempts to give boys strong role models and build strong families in order to solve social ills. The mission of FatherFigureZA is to inspire, empower and create a platform for men to become the best fathers and father figures to their own children and other children in society. The main objective is to instil belief, responsibility and focus in the younger generation.
“It’s about building relevant and meaningful relationships between fathers and children, providing the opportunity for them to communicate and get to know each other better by introducing activities that will bring families closer.”
