Former South African soap-opera actress Lindiwe Chibi — best known for her role as ”Doobsie” in Muvhango — died on Wednesday night.
Chibi (31) died at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital after she was admitted last Friday with pneumonia.
The role of Doobsie that was created for her will be retired from Muvhango in her honour, said the show’s executive producer, Duma ka Ndlovu. ”The current actress had decided to leave the show and we are not going to renew the character beyond that in tribute to Lindiwe.”
Chibi, while playing the first Doobsie, was critically wounded when she was shot in the head on April 30 2005 outside her home in Mofolo, Soweto, allegedly by her boyfriend, Dan Mokoena. Superintendent Lungelo Dlamini said Mokoena will appear in the Protea Court in Soweto on August 16 for the attempted-murder trial of Chibi.
”At the time that she was injured, she was the best actress in South Africa,” said Ndlovu. ”At her age, it was an amazing feat to rise up from a young Soweto girl to the top of an industry that boasts some illustrious names.”
Doobsie was created for Chibi based on some of her personal characteristics, but she had made the character into someone ”that every woman who grew up in the townships” could relate to, Ndlovu said.
”It was the first time that somebody took a township character and presented it to the township and the township said, ‘That’s how we’d like to be portrayed.’ It resonated.”
Ndlovu said work had been under way to reincorporate Chibi back into the series.
When asked if she ever recovered from the shooting, he said: ”She was on the way, she was fighting. Every day of her life, she was fighting to come back.”
Chibi had a ”very bubbly and optimistic” personality, he said. ”She was a fantastic bubbly person. She always laughed.”
United Democratic Movement spokesperson Star Khonco said South Africa has lost a true role model in the actress, whose death had come as the country was still expecting to see more of her.
”Doobsie, as she was affectionately known, was a passionate actress whose performances were energetic, inspiring and motivational. Her passion and style was very inspiring and she was a role model to the younger generation, especially to upcoming young actors and actresses.”
Chibi’s death is a loss to the entertainment industry, said Patricia Lebenya, acting chairperson of the Inkatha Freedom Party Youth Brigade. ”She defied the odds when she survived a gunshot at close range, which showed that she was a strong and admirable character.”
Fans on the TVSA website also paid their respects to Chibi. ”Lindiwe was the best … May her soul rest in peace … We’ll miss u doobsie!!!! :(”
Another message read: ”Thank you Doobsie for being the drama mama that you were and we’ll miss the attitude and spunk you brought on our TV screens.”
A third said: ”She entertained and will never be forgotten as ‘THE’ Doobsie. Whoever does that will always be measured against the great standards that she put up.”
Chibi started performing professionally in 1995 in Ekuseni with the Civic Theatre. She went on to perform in The Game at the Windybrow Theatre for which she won a best-actress award.
She also performed in Kose Kuse Bash directed by Sello Maake ka Ncube and played the role of Stella Kowalski in A Street Car Named Desire directed by Lara Foot Newton. Both were Market Theatre productions.
On Thursday, a small church service was held at Chibi’s home and attended by music and television personalities including the Muvhango cast, Miriam Makeba and Mara Louw.
The funeral details were not yet known, Ndlovu said. — Sapa