Ja Man!

He values Rastafarian culture. Dumisani Kubheka.

The dress code alone says a lot. Even in the words he uttered, Dumisani Kubheka never hides his identity and his belief in the Rastafarian culture. Dumisani was born and bred in Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal. He is the youngest of the eight siblings in his family.

He works as a Director in Theatre which is based in Pietermaritsburg, Edendale. Dumisani writes plays and he is also involved in music production, as he is the founder of a Gospel and Hip Hop groups he is currently composing songs for. Siyakha Performing Art is the name of the production he works for, where he teaches youngsters traditional dance. “I am mostly inspired by self-motivation, I spend time alone in my room to find ideas”, explained Dumisani.  He said that they work with young unemployed people who have completed matric but due to circumstances can’t afford to go further their education in tertiary institutions. “I want the youth to get out of their comfort zone and start using their skills and talents” he said.

Dumisani stressed the point that it is not easy to work in the community, because people think he is wasting time trying to get young boys and girls to do stage performances. “We are discouraged because others don’t understand why we do this” said Dumisani. He said that with the kind of work he does, there are challenges he faces but because he knows what he aims for everything becomes easy.  “Pain is Gain, hard work pays off all the time” he said.

By Sindisiwe Mthembu.