GUILTY MINDS
Jail time looms for mother-and-son killers Kwaito and MaNtuli
Skeem Saam Weekdays SABC1 (*191) 18:30
It’s no secret that MaNtuli (Dieketseng Mnisi) wanted to take her fury out on vile varsity lecturer Mr Spiller (Jurgen Hellberg) for stealing her student son Kwaito’s (Clement Maosa) engineering project. In fact, she proposed the idea to her daughter Pretty (Lerato Marabe) in early April 2018 after she learnt that Spiller robbed Kwaito off thousands of rands. Out of anger, MaNtuli went to confront Mr Spiller at hospital on Friday 4 May for not only stealing the prototype, but also getting in a physical fight with Kwaito that almost sent the varsity student to jail for attempted murder. MaNtuli slapped the lecturer while he was still recovering from a head injury and later that evening, Spiller died in his hospital bed. When the police see on records that hospital staffer MaNtuli was the only person to visit him that day, they arrest her. During the confrontation, MaNtuli only slapped Spiller and she thinks that she caused his condition to worsen – so she is to blame in her mind. “When the cops question her on Wednesday 9 May, she is the prime suspect in the investigation and although she doesn’t confess to killing him, MaNtuli believes that she’s guilty. She is on the edge and is prepared to take the fall for the murder,” reveals the actress.
BENDING THE RULES
MaNtuli breaks down later on Wednesday 9 May when Kwaito visits her at the police station. She tells him everything that happened during the confrontation and “she’s still under the impression that she is guilty,” says Dieketseng. With MaNtuli as the prime suspect, Kwaito wants to do everything that he can to save his mother. “Kwaito wants to tell the police that he saw a suspicious looking person at the hospital who could’ve killed his lecturer, but MaNtuli stops him. She doesn’t want him to take that chance,” hints Dieketseng. If the police find out that he’s lying, he’d be violating his parole and would be sent to jail. That is a risk she isn’t willing to take.
PRIME SUSPECT
It’s difficult for Kwaito to see his mom in this desperate position. He goes to tabloid newspaper Jozi Scoop on Thursday 17 May to “set the record straight”. “Kwaito thinks that going to the media will somehow verify that he is actually the victim in this case because Mr Spiller stole from him, not the other way around. Little does he know that this plan will backfire in an ugly way,” says Dieketseng. With everyone questioning Kwaito’s reputation, MaNtuli goes into a state of depression as she has missed days at work and Dieketseng reveals that “she is feeling all sorts of emotions. All she wanted was justice for her child, but things escalated too quickly, leaving her angry regretful”.
TAKING THE FALL
With MaNtuli ready to give up her fight for freedom on Monday 21 May, Kwaito sends her a video on her phone where Mr Spiller confesses that he stole Kwaito’s prototype. But that doesn’t leave MaNtuli out of the firing line as she is still the only person that was seen going into Mr Spiller’s ward. “MaNtuli is at peace with knowing that Spiller confessed to his crime, but the police have to find the person responsible for Spiller’s death or she’ll be locked up for something that she didn’t do,” sighs the actress in sympathy.