The murder of actor Dumi Masilela during a botched hijacking in Tembisa last month is set to be replayed when his Rhythm City character, Sifiso Ngema, is also set to be killed in the soapie’s storyline in October.
TshisaLIVE has learnt that producers made the decision to replicate Masilela’s death in an attempt to highlight the scourge of violent crimes in South Africa.
“After extensive consultation with the Masilela family, the producers of Rhythm City have decided to incorporate Dumi Masilela’s tragic death into the exit storyline of his character,” read a statement.
Masilela will appear for the last time on the soapie on October 11, which will be followed by a special on-screen memorial service in his honour on October 18.
The actor’s mom Sabatha Magdeline and brother Thabani will also feature on the episode.
“The show’s producers decided to use Sifiso’s exit story as a way to pay tribute to Dumi’s work as an actor and to highlight the tragedy of unnecessary violence that plagues our cities,” said producer Yula Quinn.
Masilela died in hospital after being shot at during an attempted hijacking in Tembisa on August 2.
Meanwhile, three people have been arrested on suspicion of being involved in the crime but have not yet been charged with the murder.
One of the suspects‚ Mfundo Nkosi handed himself over to police after his accomplice‚ Bongani Masombuka‚ was arrested for a separate crime. Both suspects are currently in court on charges of robbery with aggravated circumstances relating to separate incidents.
Nkosi has confessed that he was present when Masilela was shot but alleged that the third suspect‚ who police said had refused to be charged‚ was the triggerman.
Source : Online
