Get to know Velaphi from Isitha:the Enemy

Kwanda Sazi Manyathi is a 21-year-old South African actor, dancer, and musician. He was born in 2003 in Umlazi, KwaZulu Natal. Manyathi is well recognized for portraying a character named Velaphi on e.tv. Isitha.

Manyathi is the first born in his family followed by 3 sisters. His both parents were present when he grew up even until now. One of his parent, his Mom was not available all the time. He could only see her during the weekends or holidays.

Most of the time, he was with his father and grandmother. By spending more time in the care of his father, he learned a lot from him. He learned that he should take care of his family. Also, he considered his grandmother his mom because, when his mother was not there, his grandmother played a role as a mother.

Kwanda attended high school at Mafumbuka High school, C section in Umlazi where he obtained his matric certificate. After finishing his matric in 2019, he couldn’t further his studies because he didn’t have a birth certificate. This happened because his mother didn’t have one in possession which resulted in him not having one and his siblings. Luckily in 2020, he managed to get his birth certificate. Kwanda is looking forward to further his studies in the near future.

Every parent had a dream for their children, just like Kwanda’s parents had dreams for their son to pursue. They wanted him to become a lawyer but Kwanda was passionate about acting. He grew up loving soccer but failed to continue due to the lack of support from his family. His passion for acting began when he was in High school doing grade 10. While doing grade 10 he chose to do drama instead of science.

In 2019, he began getting involved in theater productions, including Intuba US Development, where he was a freelancer until 2021. Kwanda also worked with Brightness Production in 2021 on the show All About Music at Durban Playhouse. They were playing William Shakespeare in the Zulu version. During the time he was in theater, he worked alongside Sphesihle Mchunu, Sanele Khoza and others.

In 2022, he was cast in The Black Door, where he played a supporting role as Velaphi. Velaphi was born as a result of rape. This led Velaphi to get involved with bad friends. He started to smoke and steal. After The Black Door got cancelled, he joined Isitha. The enemy also portrays the character Velaphi.