Duma Ndlovu (born 12 October 1954) is a South African poet, filmmaker, producer, journalist and playwright. He is well known in the South African television industry, having created award-winning shows such as '' Muvhango'', '' Imbewu: The Seed'' and ''

Uzalo ''Uzalo'' is a South African soap opera produced by Stained Glass Productions, which is co-owned by Kobedi "Pepsi" Pokane and Gugu Zuma-Ncube. It began airing in 2015, quickly becoming a hit due to its compelling narrative, writing, direction an ...

''. Between 1996 and 2004 he was the chairman of the

South African Music Awards The South African Music Awards (often simply the SAMAs) are the Recording Industry of South Africa's music industry awards, established in 1995. The ceremony is held annually, usually in late April or May, with the judging process starting in N ...

Early life

Duma Ndlovu is of Zulu ancestry, and he was born in

Soweto, Gauteng Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

; his ancestral home, however, is in Bergville, KwaZulu-Natal. He went to Sekano Ntoane High School in Senaoane. After finishing high school he started writing for ''

The World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

'' newspaper. He then founded the Medupe Writers Association, a group that encouraged young black people to take interest in being writers. He served as the organization's president until 1977 when the apartheid government banned the group due to its participation in black consciousness and anti-apartheid movements. After Ndlovu and many members of the Medupe Writers Association were banned by the apartheid government, he left South Africa for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

to avoid being persecuted by the apartheid government. In the United States he was able to study and complete his master's degree at Hunter College in New York. In 1985, Ndlovu founded the Woza Afrika Foundation in order to give young black aspiring actors and actresses the opportunity to pursue their dreams and also raise funds to support the overall Arts in South Africa. He also taught African-American literature and music at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. In May 2022, University of Zululand awarded him with PhD by the faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Career

In 1992 Duma Ndlovu returned to South Africa, and he founded the Word Of Mouth Productions to mount music, theatre and television productions. The company was successful and a few years later it was chosen as the official casting company in South Africa for the Broadway musical

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

's ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance ...

''.

Bergville Stories

In 1994, he wrote ''Bergville Stories'', which was positively received and had successful runs in Durban at the Playhouse, the Market Theatre and the Grahamstown National Arts Festival. His other theatrical writing and directing credits include: *Bergville Stories *The Game *The Ritual *The Journey *MEMEZA (upcoming) *Sheila's Day

''Muvhango''

Ndlovu created ''Murendeni'', the first

Tshivenda Venda or Tshivenda is a Bantu language and an official language of South Africa. It is mainly spoken by the Venda people in the northern part of South Africa's Limpopo province, as well as by some Lemba people in South Africa. The Venda lan ...

TV drama based in Thathe,

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...

. At first the show was primarily in TshiVenda but later on other languages were incorporated into the show in order to bridge the cultural divide between the various tribes in South Africa. The show's premiere episode aired on 7 April 1997 on Sabc 2 and it was well received by the viewers. The show was a success and it won multiple awards. Ndlovu was awarded an honorary PhD from the University of Venda for his work in ''Muvhango''. ''Muvhango'' is the most watched show on Sabc 2, and on 16 May 2019 it was reported that the show had reached 6 million viewers. When Duma Ndlovu was asked, "With your first language being Zulu - why isn't it a Zulu drama?" he replied:

''Imbewu: The Seed''

Duma Ndlovu created ''Imbewu: The Seed'' with Leleti Khumalo and Anant Singh as executive producers. The show is broadcast on

etv ETV may stand for: Television * e.tv, a South African terrestrial television channel * Educational Television (Hong Kong), a television series * Educational television, the use of television in education * Enhanced TV, an interactive television ap ...

and has received positive reviews from the viewers. It attracted 2.7 million viewers on its premier and as of December 2018 it had over 4 million viewers.

''Uzalo''

Duma Ndlovu created the show ''Uzalo'', a telenovela shot and based in

KwaMashu KwaMashu is a township north of Durban, South Africa. The name is in honour of Sir Marshall Campbell and means ''Place of Marshall''. KwaMashu is bordered by Newlands East to the south, Newlands West to the west, Ntuzuma to the north, Phoenix t ...

's F section in KwaZulu-Natal. On 9 February 2015 the show's premiere episode aired on Sabc 1 and was an instant hit with the viewers, gaining 5.5 million viewers in less than a month despite only broadcasting three nights a week. ''Uzalo'' temporarily switched to SABC 2 due to schedule changes on SABC 1; it surpassed ''Muvhango'' as the most watched show on the channel, but the latter regained its top spot after ''Uzalo'' was moved back to Sabc 1. The show's popularity continued to grow immensely as it was extended from three nights a week to five nights a week and was now competing with '' Generations: The Legacy'' for the most watched TV show in South Africa. In June 2015 ''Uzalo'' officially dethroned ''Generations: The Legacy'' as the most watched television show in South Africa. At the end of September 2018, ''Uzalo'' had broken all records in the history of television viewing in South Africa. On the first of October 2018 the show had reached 10.2 million viewers, cementing its top spot as the most watched television programme by far.

Accolades

*Duma Ndlovu received an honorary PhD from the

University of Venda The University of Venda (Univen; ve, Yunivesithi ya Venḓa, af, Universiteit van Venda) is a South African comprehensive rural-based institution, located in Thohoyandou in Limpopo province. It was established in 1982 under the then Republi ...

. *Duma Ndlovu and

Mbongeni Ngema Mbongeni Ngema (born 1 June 1956) is a South African writer, lyricist, composer, director, choreographer and theatre producer, born in Verulam, KwaZulu-Natal (near Durban). He started his career as a theatre backing guitarist. He wrote the mu ...

were honoured by United States Congressman

Charles Rangel Charles Bernard Rangel (, ; born June 11, 1930) is an American politician who was a U.S. representative for districts in New York from 1971 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the second-longest serving incumbent member of the Ho ...

for their contribution to the Arts. Charles Rangel declared 9 May as "Duma Ndlovu and Mbongeni Ngema Day" in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

, New York.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ndlovu, Duma South African male novelists Living people Soweto South African dramatists and playwrights Male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century South African poets 20th-century dramatists and playwrights People from KwaZulu-Natal 21st-century dramatists and playwrights People from Gauteng 1954 births