Why does mandisa feel the need to protect mxolisi

Mandisa is Mxolisi's mother. There is a motherly protection built into her. Mandisa sees her son's qualities and difficulties : she loves him for them. She constantly worries about him. Mxolisi stays up all night, roaming the streets in with a group of other boys. He is fiercely intelligent, loyal to others, and very caring and demonstrative to his mother. At the worst of times he is disobedient and a bully to his siblings, at the best, he is a protective and politically active leader.