Cracking the whip
New bride Moliehi Zikalala is no pushover warns actress Vatiswa Ndara as she takes on the Muvhango challenge.
“Moliehi gets things done,” warns Vatiswa Ndara, who joined Venda soapie Muvhango in late March as the show revamped its storyline. She was one of the new arrivals as Muvhango celebrated its 3 000th episode on Thursday 29 March and from the word go, it’s clear that Moliehi isn’t someone to be toyed with. Vatiswa has played strong-willed and damaged characters in the past, like drunkard Miriam in SABC1 drama Home Affairs (2005-2010), the evil NomaRussia in Mzansi Magic’s iGazi (2016-2017) and feisty businesswoman Clementine in e.tv drama show Harvest (2017) – and she is happy to continue the trend. “Moliehi is streetwise and tough. She’s a mom. And she’s a widow with a dangerous streak,” says the actress.
How would you describe Moliehi? I think she’s a bit of a bully. A control freak and she wants things done in a certain way. If things don’t go her way, then the sparks will fly! How does she fit into the new-look world of Muvhango? She comes in as the new wife of strong-willed, determined businessman James Motsamai (Dingaan Mokebe). He felt it was time to marry a “mature” woman rather than take a young wife. They are working on a couple of projects together and her marriage to James [on 29 March] is a marriage of convenience, not love, so that they can be “the power couple” and a force to be reckoned with in the business circles. She’s not afraid to bend rules to get her way in the boardroom… That goes for her family too, her son Skhumbuzo (Thokozani Sithole) and daughter Thobila (Kertrice Maitisa). She’ll do anything to protect her children. And I mean anything. You drew quite a lot of attention as the evil NomaRussia in iGazi. Is Moliehi anything like her? [Laughs] I won’t say that they are twins, but they could be related. They might even be distant cousins.