Synopsis for
Tsotsi (2005) More at IMDbPro »

Tsotsi (Presley Chweneyagae) is a petty-crime gang leader. He crosses the line when he kills a man in the underground to steal his money from him.

His next crime is stealing Pumla Dube's car (Nambitha Mpumlwana) He shoots her in her leg and then drives away. Suddenly he hears a soft crying: it's a baby. While the police starts investigating, Pumla is in a coma at hospital, and she never may walk again, her husband John (Rapulana Seiphemo) is angry and desperate.

Tsotsi hides the baby at his carton-and-can home without saying anything to anybody, especially to his friends, Aap, Butcher and Boston (Kenneth Nkosi, Zenzo Ngqobe and Mothusi Magano). He has a terrible argument with them at the bar of Fela (Zola). A fight ensues.

Tsotsi has tried to feed the baby with milk, and when he returns home ants are all over him. He realises he doesn't know how to take car of it, so he takes the baby to Miriam (Terry Pheto)'s home, and forces her to breast-feed the baby. They start talking, while police pressure increases over him.

His friends now know that he's made a job on his own. He returns to the baby's home to steal teddy bears and toys, and one of his friends was going to kill John, who had been tied down. Tsotsi kills his friend. They all ran away.

Tsotsi also talks to a handicapped veteran who begs on the underground. They talk about life and things.

Tsotsi wants to give the baby back. Miriam encourages him. She's also eager to take care of the baby on Tsotsi's behalf. Tsotsi remembers when he was called David, and his father was a drunkard who would not let him stay near his dying mother. His father breaks the bones of his dog, a "deed" which Tsotsi will claim for himself later on. The dog keeps on living crawling on his front paws.

Tsotsi finally gives the baby back. The police are there, and they handcuff him.