Bongani Masondo Biography | Early Life, Acting & Music Career, Sangoma, Filmography

Bongani Masondo: South African Actor, Singer, and Scriptwriter.

Bongani Masondo Biography 

Bongani Masondo, a celebrated South African actor, singer, and scriptwriter, is best known for his role as 'Babymaker' in the SABC1 series Skeem Saam.

Early Life

Born on January 26, 1984, Bongani grew up in Spruitview, South Africa. Initially pursuing economic sciences at the University of Johannesburg, he switched to the Africa Film Drama Art (AFDA) school to study Live Performance, majoring in Screen Acting.

Career

Acting

Bongani began his career as Bafana "Prince" Shabalala in Tshisa (2006-2012). He gained widespread fame as 'Babymaker' in Skeem Saam (2014-2017) and later joined e.tv’s Ambitions. He also does voice-over work in English and IsiZulu.

Scriptwriting

He transitioned to scriptwriting with Umkhokha: The Curse, contributing as both a scriptwriter and storyliner under the mentorship of head writer Kagiso Mogale.

Music

Bongani is part of the rap duo Tu Black, debuting in 2017, and a member of Coloured Black, an experimental band blending beatboxing, rap, singing, poetry, and songwriting.

Filmography

- *Ambitions* – Season 1 as Vusi Mthethwa

- *Skeem Saam* – Seasons 3, 4, 5, 11 as Mangaliso

- *Society* – Season 1 as Thabang

- *Tshisa* – Seasons 1-3 as Bafana “Prince” Shabalala

- *Turn It Out* – Season 2 (Street Battle) as Guest Judge – Himself

- *Skin* (2008)

Personal Life

Sangoma

In 2011, Bongani answered his calling as a sangoma, temporarily pausing his career to undergo initiation. In 2017, he put his sangoma duties on hold to focus on acting and music, but he remains committed to returning to his practice when possible .