Sizwe Sibiya
Innocent Masuku, who played the iconic character Bobo on the popular SABC drama Yizo Yizo, has opened up about the ruinous drug habit which destroyed his acting career.
Almost every South African who was around when Yizo Yizo was still airing between 1999 and 2004 will remember Bobo, the rebellious but lovable hobo.
And from 2006 to 2012, with no Yizo Yizo in sight, South Africans will remember another television series called Tshisa featuring the very popular characters Baksteen and Bongani.
But last week, Masuku spoke out about his descent into substance abuse.
Wearing an EFF t-shirt, Masuku addressed his fans, telling them that his problems began at the peak of his career and led him down a very dark hole. He appeared in a video which was shared by the EFF on social media for their 16 June commemoration.
“When I got to the acting industry I was one of those who got involved in drugs. I regret, I lost so many good friends. I lost so many good things.
“And I won’t regain that time,” said Masuku on the video, adding that it has been five years since he’d looked for comfort in drugs.
He also revealed he has now been taken in by his family in the home where he was born in Zone 3, Soweto in Johannesburg.
Masuku, who also played the lead actor in an SABC soccer drama series, advised the youth of Mzansi not to be like him, but to follow their dreams and ignore his “footsteps”.
“Mothers are crying out there. Fathers are crying out there. They are being defeated by their kids, because of drugs.”
