Skeem Saam
Clement is torn between protecting his beaten-up mother and learning to be a man from his abusive father.
Skeem Saam Weekdays SABC1 (*191) 18:30
High school student Clement (Vusi Leremi) usually bottles up his emotions until they overflow. Coming from an abusive household has taught him to express himself with rage, but he’s on a path to adulthood and that requires the young man to grow up and change. “Clement has seen it all. It’s sad that he has to go through yet another obstacle,” says Vusi. To get away from the domestic drama at home, Clement has spent the year living with his grandmother MaNtuli (Dieketseng Mnisi), but that’s not far enough away from trouble because his irresponsible dad Dennis (Clevy Sekgala) arrives unannounced on Wednesday 11 October.
Dennis tries to convince Clement to take his side in court. “What court? What trial?” asks the youngster. Dennis has been accused of beating his wife Sthoko (Innocent Sadiki) but “Clement wants nothing to do with his father. They have been down this road before
and Clement knows all too well that Dennis is pretending to be the good guy, but he’s just lying,” explains Vusi.
ON THE FENCE
The trial kicks off on Friday 13 October and the community has gathered to see it play out. Although he’s sure that his dad is guilty, it’s still tough for Clement to watch Dennis being dragged down. “He deserves this. Dennis has beaten Sthoko close to death and it’s time for him to face up to the music,” says Vusi. Although Sthoko and her sister Pretty (Lerato Marabe) want Dennis to pay for all the years he has physically and mentally abused Stocko, she later has a chat with Clement about his broken father-son relationship. “When all is said and done, Dennis will always be a part of Clement’s life. Sthoko wants her son to know that no matter what the court decides, she still wants him to have a relationship with his father,” explains Vusi.
ON THE EDGE
The court comes to a decision on Monday 16 October and Clement’s life is changed forever. “He must accept that Dennis might go to jail for a very long time. Clement thought that he would be happy with the verdict but it’s tough to see a life without his dad,” says Vusi. But Dennis isn’t going down without a fight and since he’s used to buying his way out of trouble, he’s going to make sure that his lawyers use every trick in the book. “Dennis has money for days. Everyone in that court room knows that he’s guilty but he doesn’t want to rot in jail. Instead, he is pretending to be a changed man to get a get-out-ofjail-free card,” adds Vusi.
MAN UP
Clement resents his dad for what he’s done, but that doesn’t stop the young man from trying to contact Dennis behind his mom’s back on Tuesday 24 October. “Sthoko and Pretty are terrified for Clement because he’s still in the growing up phase,” says Vusi. And while going to initiation school in June 2017 taught him a thing or two about “being a man”, Clement wants to be an obedient son to both his parents while still being an upstanding young man. “Clement is young and he should keep his head held high,” explains Vusi. “It’s not going to be easy, but he is determined to get through this.”