Actor Thembinkosi Mfana-Jones Hlophe was buried in his hometown of Durban on Saturday, 17 October, according to the Daily Sun.
He was laid to rest at Clairwood Cemetery. This followed a funeral service at Yellowwood Park Civic Hall on the same day.
Hlophe, who was 53, died on Wednesday, 7 October, at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in Johannesburg. The Daily Sun reported that he had lived with Type 1 diabetes for a long time.
At the time of his death, he was playing the troubled character Nimrod on the SABC1 soapie Generations: The Legacy.
His daughter, Eljay Sebenzo, paid tribute to him during the service. “Our journey was not perfect. Perhaps there were things we could have done differently. There were moments where we could have been closer, moments where we could have understood each other better, and things we perhaps never got a chance to say. But despite everything, you were my dad and I loved you,” she said.
Eljay is also the daughter of well known actress Linda Sebenzo. Linda attended the funeral to support her daughter.
Many people from the acting world came to say goodbye. Among them were Siyabonga Thwala, Sandile Dlamini, Simphiwe Majozi, Thobani Nzuza and Menzi Biyela.
Eugene Cele, who works on Generations: The Legacy, spoke at the service. He said the cast was with Hlophe on Monday, 5 October. He said the actor was bubbly and happy, but they noticed he was struggling with something.
“I knew him when I was working with him on Imbewu: The Seed. His work was good. He was a great performer,” Eugene said.
He said Hlophe often changed his cellphone numbers. When he could not reach him, his friend Sandile Dlamini would help.
Eugene said he thought of Hlophe as soon as the show’s head writer described the new character Nimrod. “I didn’t stress myself because I knew that Mfana-Jones would nail it,” he said.
Actor Sandile Dlamini told mourners that Hlophe was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 16. He said Hlophe was in denial at first, before he started to fight the illness.
Dlamini said the two had spoken a few weeks earlier while he was in Johannesburg. They planned to spend a weekend together once he finished shooting, before he went home to Durban.
“I never thought that his funeral would be our last weekend together. That’s when I learned the sad news,” Dlamini said.
Hlophe acted in many local productions over his career. These included Sarafina, Uzalo, Soul City, Zabalaza, Imbewu: The Seed and Kwababa.
Source: this article is based on reporting by Daily Sun. Image: Daily Sun. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Entertainment desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Rirhandzu Baloyi writes about entertainment for Tzaneen Voice. Rirhandzu covers South African music, film, TV, streaming, awards and celebrity news, from amapiano and local soapies to Showmax and Netflix releases. Stories stick to what happened, who was involved and when fans can watch or listen.