The Theory of Flight by Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu
Character List
Character Personality
Determined, independent, vivacious, optimistic
Likes colour and the absurd
Suffers from HIV (due to blood transfusion or rape is
unclear)
Grew up on Beauford Farm and Estate (hatched from a
‘Golden Egg’)
Best friends with Marcus
Later a lover of Vida de Villiers who she lived with from
18 to her death
Friends with Beatrice Beit-Beauford, takes out for girls
Imogen Zula Nyoni
day 2X a month
‘Genie’
Carries around a suitcase with childhood clothes and 2
stuffed toys, Penelope (ragdoll made by Elizabeth) and
Specks (bespeckled bear from Golide)
Loves the TV show Button Moon
Left Masuku household at 18 years old to join Vida on
the street
Said to have lived in iterations, changing personality for
everyone
Later “reincarnated” as a colourful bird
“I am precious”
Genie’s Mother
Unknown state of existence (not clarified
alive/deceased)
Country and Western singer styled after Dolly Parton,
wears a golden wig
Elizabeth Nyoni Dreams of going to Nashville, Tennessee. Golide is
building plane to take her there
Confident, determined, driven, self-confident
Loved Genie a lot and raised Genie to be her own
person
“Marched to the beat of her own drum”
Golide Gumede Genie’s Father
‘Livingstone Stanley Tikiti’ Tall, self-confident, charismatic, natural leader
Albino and gap toothed (inherited by Genie)
Obsession with aeroplanes (studied aeronautical
engineering) and the ‘Theory of Flight’
Created the idea of the ‘Theory of Flight’ when
witnessing elephants crossing over Victoria Falls
Prompts to shoot down a Vickers Viscount flying over
Victoria Falls, so that he can build his own aeroplane and
spread the idea of flight
Unknown state of existence (not clarified
alive/deceased)
Freedom Fighter
, “He possessed that certain something… charisma”
Genie’s grandfather
Loves to travel, wanderlust
Enterprising and charming
Baines Tikiti Had a love for planes that he passed onto his son
‘Bafana Ndlelaphi’ Worked for His Masters Gramophone as a travelling
salesman
Married Prudence Ngoma
Drowned himself in the ocean (cause of death)
Genie’s grandmother
Raised children alone due to Baines travels
Believes in having character
Prudence Ngoma
Independent, strong willed, stubborn
Left Baines when she realised he would never accept
Golide for who he is (due to his albinism)
Genie’s aunt and Golide’s sister
Tortured for information on her brother by C10
(Mordechai), leads her to being crippled
Minenhle Tikiti C10 later becomes her partner (not aware that he is the
one who tortured her)
Used to teach Domestic Science at Beauford
Reported Genie dead following the attack on Beauford
Genie’s best friend
Well groomed, pretty, cautious
In love with Genie (not reciprocated) his whole life
Later marries Esme Masuku and has 3 children
Grew up on Beauford Farm and Estate as parents left
Marcus Malcolm Martin Masuku
him there to work in America
Struggles to feel rooted or connected
Moves to America to become a businessman (very
wealthy)
Owner of Vida’s artwork ‘The Firebird’
Marcus’s sister
Shared a room with Genie as a child
Has a PhD in America and unwritten dissertation
Believes she is the reason for Genies HIV, carries guilt
for rest of life
Krystle Masuku
Feels different from her family, odd one out
Selfish, materialistic, likes feeling superior, victim
complex
Very sceptical and critical of her family, only one who
sees them for who they truly are
Dingani Masuku Marcus’s father
Genie’s adoptive father
Got a scholarship to study medicine in America where
he made his money
Doctor with own practice he runs in Zimbabwe
Feels guilt for providing information to the government
about Golide Gumede and believes he is responsible for
the Beauford attack
Used to be in a band, met Thandi when he was playing
, one night
Adopted Genie due to guilt
Marcus’s mother
Genie’s adoptive mother
Grew up on Beauford Farm and Estate
Winner of pageants and almost a model until fell
pregnant with Marcus
Obsession with cleanliness, both for herself and her
surroundings
Thandi Hadebe
Thrown in a pit latrine during the first attack on
Later ‘Masuku’
Beauford
Believes that appearances are everything
Only blemish is where Marcus bit her when they tried to
take him for Beauford
Cut down all the jacarandas and flamboyant in the yard
before leaving for Belgium and divorcing Dingani
“Dangerous beauty”
Marcus’s grandmother
Abused by Mbongeni Masuku
Provided information to Emil Coetzee about Mbongeni’s
treasonous meetings, led to his arrest and later death
Critical of Genie from the start
Eunice Masuku When Genie left, burnt all her things in the front yard
Does not take kindly to people she views as
disappointments
Said to have too much pride
Suffers from a stroke and dementia in old age
Worked as a housewife (maid) before becoming a nurse
Marcus’s grandfather
Deceased
Abused Eunice and Dingani, physical, emotionally, and
Mbongeni Masuku
mentally
Arrested for treason by Emil Coetzee where he received
a life sentence to jail and died there
Fought in army
Predominantly a street dweller
Nicknamed ‘Jesus’ and has a Scania pushcart
Coloured – Great grandfather had a child with a Khoisan
Woman
Lost both parents in a car crash
Creates weld art from scrap metal. Displayed in galleries
Vida de Villiers around the world and made him famous
Lover of Everleigh Coetzee and later Genie
Saved Genie in his pushcart when she got hit by a car
Bullied for sexuality (bisexual) when a child
Saved by Golide Gumede when he was 17 in the army
Owns a house called ‘The House That Jack Built’ which
he lived in with Genie
Likes marijuana and moringa
Bhekithemba Nyathi Journalist for national newspaper
Wanted to change the country for the better with his
, writing
Journalism degree from a scholarship offered by The
Man Himself
Does not believe in love
Supporter of colonialism in youth until a Bob Marley
concert
Bob Marley called him “a real revolutionary”
Can only write what The Man Himself tells to (state
pawn)
Feels guilty for causing the attack on Beauford Farm and
Estate after writing an article on it
Crippled hunchback, often underestimated and
disregarded
Astute, perceptive, good judge of character
Married
Employee at the Organisation of Domestic Affairs
Valentine Tanaka Aids Genie in fulfilling her wish to die at Beauford
Owner of the sunglasses Vida mysteriously found in his
house
Told he has a heart of gold
Works to be told he has done a ‘good job’
“Certifiably ugly”
Orphan
Previously known as C10, a spy for Emil Coetzee
Did not care for his own life or the lives of others
Refused to learn any particular skills and become
Mordechai Gatiro educated
Changed ways after meeting Minenhle, later his partner
Worked at the National Archives restoring books and
manuscripts
Loves birds
Owner of Beauford Farm and Estate
Grew up on the farm, mother died after birth
Was a passenger on the Vickers Viscount with her 2
coloured sons (passed away in crash)
Liberal minded, self-assured
Was a hippie after studying at Oxford
Got evicted from Beauford Farm due to her
Beatrice Beit-Beauford
“treasonous” beliefs (she was a nationalist)
Gave the farm to The Survivors for $1
Has Alzheimers and is in Princess Margaret Retirement
Home
Friends with Genie, knows Golide shot down Vickers
Viscount, does not hold it against her
Best friends with Kuki Carmichael
Kuki Sedgwick Beatrice’s best friend
Later ‘Coetzee’ and ‘Carmichael’ Mother of Everleigh Coetzee
Previously married to Emil Coetzee and Todd Carmichael
Loyal to Beatrice, visits weekly in retirement home
Vain, does not want to age
Racist, but does not admit she is racist (“frustrated
