Man of emotion
Emmanuel breaks down when he discovers who has sexually assaulted his crush Palesa.
Life is about to get a lot messier for troubled teenager Emmanuel (Nkosi Cengani). “He feels like he’s in a dark hole [on Friday 18 August] and life isn’t going his way,” explains Nkosi. “He can’t find a job and wastes his free time doing nothing. He ends up back in his old lifestyle doing drugs”. Emmanuel’s new bestie Vega (Mbasa Msongelo) talks him into smoking “a substance” with him and Nkosi says that “it’s at this point that Emmanuel feels like Vega is the only one who understands him. Their friendship is toxic but Emmanuel is blind to that”.
LET’S PARTY
When it comes to friends, Emmanuel has never had a good role model to look up to, but Vega might be the worst yet. He convinces Emmanuel that throwing a party on Thursday 24 August “is a great idea”. There will be booze, there will be drugs and there will be women! And since he’s home alone, it’s not like Emmanuel is going to get into trouble… “Vega promises that they’ll have fun and he tells Emmanuel to invite Palesa (Hloni Padi) to the party,” explains Nkosi. What Emmanuel doesn’t know is that Vega’s invited his friends and they’re not nice guys at all. Emmanuel plans on telling Palesa that he likes her that night but she’s gone missing at the party. Emmanuel goes in search of his love interest but he’s not expecting to walk in on her being gang raped! And leading the sexual assault is Vega! “He is stunned,” says Nkosi. “It’s horrible! Palesa is unconscious and Vega’s friends overpower him and throw him out the room before he can rescue Palesa.”
GUILT FLEE
Instead of going to the cops, Emmanuel flees the scene on Friday 25 August and goes into hiding. “His family want answers when he comes home,” says Nkosi. “Emmanuel thinks that he has disappointed them enough with his past, so he doesn’t want to tell them about Palesa’s rape.” He plots revenge on Tuesday 29 August but Nkosi adds, “It will be hard. Vega isn’t someone you mess with, but Emmanuel’s willing to risk everything to avenge Palesa!”
LIFELINE
LifeLine SA offers free and confidential 24-hour crisis help for a variety of trauma situations, including rape. Contact them on 0861 322 322