With love, Dad
Clement is on the fence about reaching out to his abusive dad Dennis when Dennis sends him a letter from jail.
A Chinese proverb states that you should never write a letter while you are angry, so Clement (Vusi Leremi) had better hope the letter he receives from his deadbeat convict dad Dennis (Clevy Seleka) on Wednesday 18 July comes with “I miss you” rather than “I want revenge”. Dennis was sent to prison in October last year for nearly beating his wife Sthoko (Innocent Sadiki) to death. But it seems as though his abusive ways might be a thing of the past when prison officials consider releasing Dennis on early parole. “He wants to put their bad blood in the past and while Clement testified against his dad in Dennis’s trial last year, they are both willing to put the past behind them,” says Vusi. But things aren’t as clear- cut for Clement – he is eager to reach out to his jailbird dad but he knows that telling his family about the letter would result in backlash. “Dennis wasn’t a good father but he wants to change and Clement is ready to give him a second chance. He wants to explore a relationship with his dad but that’s only if his mother will let him,” explains the actor.
FAMILY MATTERS
Clement’s fears are confirmed on Thursday 19 July when he shows his family the letter: they forbid him from seeing his dad. “His grandmother MaNtuli (Dieketseng Mnisi) freaks out! She warns him to stay away from Dennis because the family hates his guts,” says Vusi. But MaNtuli isn’t the only one freaked out by the letter. Sthoko fears that Dennis could be out for her blood because she’s responsible for sending him to jail. “This leaves Clement conflicted and he is clueless on what to do because, like during the trial, he is caught in the middle of his parents’ fight,” explains Vusi. Clement feels obligated to pick his mother’s side because she was physically and emotionally abused by his father for years. And in this way, Clement refrains from responding to Dennis’s letter and “he continues with his life as if he didn’t read it. He wants to keep the peace in his family until his father is a free man,” laments the actor.