Johannesburg – Chasing dreams took thespian Jerry Mofokeng wa Makhetha out of the township, but he says it is impossible to take the township lifestyle out of him.
The Scandal! actor known as Neo Mokgethi, an old-timer gangster now trying to right his wrongs, took Sunday World through his upbringing in the country’s biggest township.
Mofokeng hails from 1956 Moema Street in Orlando West, Soweto.
This stands out as a highlight in his life because this is the same street where Hector Pieterson was shot and killed during the Soweto uprising.
He says the heartbreaking incident happened about three or four houses away from his home.
Soon after the massacre of protesting students, Mofokeng says he realised what a blessing it was to grow up in the neighbourhood.
The decorated thespian was surrounded by homes of Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Sibongile Khumalo and Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse, among other legends from the area.
“That was an event that forced the education department to review teaching and learning in a language that was hard for most of us to understand.
“We had three languages and four other subjects. The rule was that 50% of those subjects be taught and absorbed in Afrikaans.
Imagine having to learn mathematics in Afrikaans.
“Our teachers would teach it in English, then translate to Afrikaans for our understanding, this would mean you absorb 70% of the things in class because of the language,” he says.
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By the time of the massacre, Mofokeng was 20 and had returned to school.
However, he could not form part of the Black Consciousness Movement founded by anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko because he was considered a minor.
He had initially completed his matric in 1974 with a school-leaving qualification that he considered absurd since it could not be used to get into any university.
The qualification also made it hard for him to get a job.
However, he was employed as a Bantu mail clerk at an insurance company the following year, but soon realised that it was not worth his time – opting to return to Orlando West High School in 1976.
He says going back to school was the wisest decision he could have ever made in his life.
This was when his love for theatre and acting was sparked after watching Gibson Kente’s Sikalo musical at Uncle Tom’s Hall.
“Gibs [Kente] was my ladder because he showed me that you can do anything you want.
“I mean, he had no qualification but he understood and made theatre anyway. Kente was an innovator, and he made our youth [years] interesting at Uncle Tom’s Hall,” remembers Mofokeng.
In 1983, he pursued his dream and attended the Wits University School of Dramatic Arts and graduated in directing as second major.
He then pursued a scholarship to Columbia University, New York, where he obtained an MFA in theatre – directing and management.
He has since flourished in the theatre space and made numerous appearances on TV, showing off his talent in Mr Bones, Mandela and De Klerk, Tsotsi, The Forgotten Kingdom and Five Fingers for Marseilles, among many other productions.
In 2013, he bagged the Safta Lifetime Achievement Award. This was followed by the African Film Festival’s African Film Legend Award in 2018.
In 2019, the University of the Free State changed his title when he was recognised for his contribution in the arts. Mofokeng was granted an honorary doctorate.
“All I can say is that my kasi [township] made me. We have our own language and culture, so no matter where I go, no matter the distance I’m far away from home, I will always have this kasi attitude and being inside of me,” he says boastfully.
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