Sindi Dlathu Gets Her Flowers as Netflix South Africa Celebrates ‘The Spine’
OkMzansi | 21.08.2026 15:49
Award winning South African actress Sindi Dlathu has received a special tribute from Netflix South Africa, and the actress could not help but show her appreciation for the unexpected gesture.
The streaming giant recently put up a billboard celebrating Sindi, with the words: “Sìndi ‘The Spine’ Dlathu.” The clever tribute comes as the actress continues to make waves with her latest role in Netflix South Africa’s crime drama series, Umthetho.
In the series, Sindi plays Agnes Khoza, the powerful and ruthless head of centre (prison boss), a character who has quickly captured the attention of viewers.
Agnes is a formidable, calculated, and highly layered character who is described as someone who “smells blood”. She uses strength, intelligence, and unpredictability to navigate the systems of power behind bars, making her one of the most intimidating characters in the series.
Showing appreciation for the billboard, Sindi wrote, “What a lovely surprise! Portraying Mansi’s stories will always be my greatest privilege that I do not take for granted. So humbled by this incredible gesture from @netflixsa, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.”
But behind the now-famous “The Spine” nickname is an amusing story involving content creator and actor Atlegang Songo.
Sindi also showed great appreciation and love to Atlegang, who sent the actress a voice message a few months ago. Clearly impressed by Sindi’s acting ability, he jokingly called her “the spine”, intending to say “thespian” but pronouncing the word as “the spine”.
What started as a playful moment soon became a phrase associated with the celebrated actress. Sindi even made “The Spine” part of her Instagram bio, embracing the joke and turning it into her own badge of honour.
Crediting the content creator, she wrote, “And to @papi.nicetingz the genuine passion, humor and joy you bring to celebrating South African talent and culture is so special. You have such a beautiful connection to the people, and seeing everyone embrace your creativity through “The Spine” makes me so proud. This is truly your moment to shine. Thank you.”
The billboard therefore became more than just a Netflix campaign. It also became a full-circle moment, taking an inside joke from social media and turning it into a public celebration of Sindi’s talent.
In a current interview with TRUE LOVE, Sindi Dlathu spoke more about her role in Umthetho and the challenge of bringing Agnes Khoza to life.
“She embodies power, number one. And I think one of the risks as an actor was being powerful, being ruthless, smelling blood. And at the same time, because we’re human beings, I wondered as I was reading the script that this person does not have a single ounce of empathy, and because we’re human beings, you should have that, but I didn’t find any of that in her,” she explains.
She continued: “That on its own was a bit difficult to play because you play characters – characters are human beings just reliving things that are already there. But with this character, she’s something else.”
With Netflix South Africa now proudly calling her “The Spine,” Sindi Dlathu has certainly been given her flowers. And judging by the reaction to her performance in Umthetho, the nickname may be sticking around for a long time.
