According to City Press, the star was arrested in 2008 at her Cleveland home in Johannesburg for possession of Mandrax worth R5-million. She told Move magazine this week that the time she spent in prison was a “dark time”.
Linda Sebezo’s portrayal of a prison inmate on Lockdown has us peeing our pants on the regular and may have come in part from her own experience behind bars.
“Heh. It was a dark time. I was in Sun City Maximum Prison (Johannesburg Correctional Centre) for three months,” she said.
She said she taught other inmates how to dance, act and sing during her time there. Even when she returned home jobless and had to move into a one bedroom she wouldn’t let herself become depressed by her situation.
“I don’t know what depression is. I have never let my life be destroyed by circumstances. I decided long ago to live my life the best way I want to and that’s what I am doing”
During an interview with Drum late last year, the star revealed that she returned to the prison when casting in Lockdown.
“Since I stay close to Sun City, I decided to go visit the prison and speak to some of the inmates and wardens to find out how things are done inside. I also mixed with some of my emotions.”
She also told Sunday Independent late last year that she learnt from stories about her father, who organised a gang in his youth and was arrested.
“Some of the things I had to ask my mom because back in the day, my dad formed a gang in Sophiatown and my mom would tell me about what happened when they were arrested.”
Ma has certainly picked up the pieces of her life and recently won a South African Film and Television Awards (Safta) for best-supporting actress in a comedy- for her role in Gauteng Maboneng.
Source: Instagram/Times Live
