Running from rape
Tladi is the talk of the gym when he’s arrested for sexual assault.
Keeping Score Mon-Thu SABC3 (*192) 21:30
Aspiring pro boxer Tladi (Solomon Sebothma) is living the life at the moment. His career is on the rise, he’s got loads of fans and he is being trained by ex- champ and ASA gym boss Justice (Saint Seseli). But punching his way to victory on Monday 10 July is going to be a serious loss for his personal life when Tladi’s celebrations leave him without a memory of the next before… and in the back of a cop car!
“HE DID IT!”
“Tladi and his entourage go out partying after his fight on Monday 10 July,” explains Solomon. “They go to a nearby bar and they get chatting to some girls. Tladi wakes up the next morning in bed with Pula (Bokang Phelane), one of the girls he partied with.” No harm, no foul… at the time. Later that day, the party girl heads to the police station to lay a rape charge against the boxer. “Tladi is devastated when he is told that Pula accused him of raping her,” says Solomon. He knows that is out of character for him and that he couldn’t and wouldn’t have done something like that. But there’s a problem: Tladi can’t actually remember anything from the bar… so could he really have done it? “Anything could be possible,” says Solomon. “Tladi also worries that if this gets out into the public, he would be a disappointment to his family regardless of whether he did actually commit the crime!”
RESCUE RANGER
Justice finds out about Tladi’s trouble on Tuesday 11 July and he gets Tladi’s lawyer-in-training brother Lehasa (Siyabonga Sepotokele) on the job right away. Tladi’s mom Mmamosa (Sonia Mbele) meanwhile hands Lehasa a fat cheque to bribe Pula with. Lehasa holds onto the cheque until he knows what’s going on, but he’ll need to hurry. The cops arrive at the gym later on Tuesday 11 July to arrest Tladi and Solomon explains that “he’s embarrassed because he’s taken to jail in front of his friends”. And it gets worse on Monday 17 and Tuesday 18 July: Justice, Lehasa and the police interrogate Tladi as though he’s a criminal. “Tladi is at risk of losing his job, becoming a coach and losing his title,” says Solomon, adding that “we are hoping to teach viewers that you need to look at both sides of the story before making a judgement”.