Caught out!
Smanga and Namhla’s forbidden love affair is exposed – with explosive results.
Namhla (Thulisile Phongolo) hasn’t been able to get enough of her boss since pulling Smanga (Moopi Mothibeli) into a passionate embrace in September, even though he’s the man she accused of sexual assault in June 2015. And despite Smanga’s reservations, their time between the sheets turns into a fullblown relationship. Namhla is forced to think fast when her family want to meet her new boyfriend, but she isn’t fast enough for her aunt Getty (Andisiwe Dweba), who busts Namhla and unleashes her fury on Smanga.
MEET THE PARENTS
After noticing just how preoccupied Namhla is on Monday 14 November, Lucy (Manaka Ranaka) insists on meeting the man who’s been keeping her daughter so busy, unaware that it’s the “pervert” Smanga. But having to keep their hook-ups under wraps is bothering both Smanga and Namhla. Namhla gets Yonke (left) to be her pretend boyfriend but it might not be enough. “In a perfect world, Smanga would wear his heart on his sleeve and publicly declare their relationship. It tears him to shreds that this isn’t that world,” says Moopi. “Namhla is a victim of his abuse, his employee and considerably younger. He’s a politician and a public figure.” The actor adds that “as much as Smanga loves her, he understands that their relationship is a recipe for disaster. In the wrong hands, this information could sink not only his career but his life”. While the lovebirds agree that too much is at risk for them to go public and that it’s a necessary evil to keep it secret, how long will Namhla be able to keep it from Lucy?
FAUX BEAU
Namhla decides to get her mom off her back on Tuesday 15 November by asking her colleague Yonke (Khatutshelo Ramabulana) to play her boyfriend for the evening, but Smanga isn’t sure that it’s a good idea, not least because Yonke already suspects the pair’s office romance after noticing building tension between them. “Smanga is stunned at the thought. When he asked Namhla to control the ‘Yonke situation’, the last thing on his mind was for them to pretend to be a couple,” says Moopi. “He is furious at her because Yonke is an employee and is now one more loose end they don’t need.” Namhla argues back, saying that it’s the only way to quell her family’s suspicions and a reluctant Smanga realises that he doesn’t have much say at this point.
GOTCHA!
Getty isn’t buying the charade and on Thursday 17 November she starts digging for the truth… and when she finds it, it isn’t pretty. “Smanga is horrified that this bubble of theirs, of which he went through great pains to try protect, has finally burst. He is unsettled by the idea that his world is on the verge of collapse,” Moopi says of Getty’s attack on Smanga at his office on Tuesday 22 November. “He has no power during the confrontation and does his best not to provoke an already volatile situation.” But what will Getty do now that she knows who Namhla’s secret lover is? Tell Lucy? Or what about making it public, possibly ruining Smanga’s political aspirations? “While Smanga is trying to keep a calm exterior for Namhla’s sake, inside he is dying. There’s no telling what Getty will do now,” teases Moopi.