Spite or right?
Hleziphi can shout that Nonka and Kwanda are pushing drugs, but why would you believe Miss Steal Your Man!
The friendship between Hleziphi (Sibongiseni Shezi) and Nonka (Thuthuka Mthembu) has been quite rocky, mostly thanks to Hleziphi’s conniving ways. But when she discovers that her best friend’s boyfriend Kwanda (Sandile Mfusi) is up to no good and putting Nonka’s life in danger, Hleziphi tries to do the right thing for the first time. Alas, no one trusts or believes her and why would they? Such a shame when you’re trying to turn over a new leaf in the middle of a forest fire.
At the end of July, Hleziphi becomes convinced that Nonka and Kwanda are drug dealers. “This is because of their sudden change in lifestyle. Nonka goes from living in a one-bedroom house with three family members, to her boyfriend buying her a fancy car and them buying a house together. And they claim the money is from Nonka’s beauty products. That sounds really suspicious to Hleziphi,” Sibongiseni says, and she’s right on the nose when she smells a rat.
“What happens is that Kwanda presents products to Nonka to distribute as a partnership in business. Hleziphi makes the discovery that Kwanda is using these products as front to sell drugs under the radar. The consequences of Hleziphi having this knowledge could be, and eventually prove to be, dire,” she adds.
CRY WOLF, GET BITTEN
Back in June, Nonka and Kwanda were shocked when Hleziphi revealed that she used muti, which turned them against each other and destroyed the business they were running together. Hleziphi also turned her best friend’s life upside down in May when she consulted a sangoma to win her best friend’s man Kwanda’s heart. Because of the muti, Hleziphi was able to seduce Kwanda to have sex with her – and she made sure to record every moment and whoops, oh no, oh dear, Nonka saw the recording. Hleziphi and Kwanda even started dating after Nonka watched their sextape, but their relationship didn’t survive her admitting the truth of what she’d done.
Given Hleziphi’s slippery history, it’s no surprise that Nonka’s older sister
Lilly (Noxolo Mathula) doesn’t believe Hleziphi when she tries to warn Lilly about what Nonka has gotten caught up in. It just looks like spite. Noxolo explains why her character dismisses Hleziphi’s warnings: “At some point Hleziphi believes that actually, maybe Nonka has no idea of what’s happening right under her nose, and in fact fears that her friend’s life is in danger because of this man. So she goes to Nonka’s older sister who is also a police officer, to give her a heads-up. But obviously, because everyone knows Hleziphi’s ways, including Lilly, she doesn’t get the reception that she’s hoping for.”
MUTI? SURE, DRUGS, NEVER
Hleziphi’s fears reach a fever pitch in early August, driving her to resign from the job that Nonka gave her at the business. Sibongiseni explains, “Although Hleziphi is a person of questionable morals, she feels like being involved with drugs really sends people to a place of no return, and she fears not only for her own life, but for her younger brother’s life as well.”
After her failed relationship with Kwanda, Hleziphi dropped of the radar for a while, “As she always does after some scandal,” Sibongiseni quips. But since returning to KwaMashu she wants to put her life back together and live right, believe it or not! Being associated with drugs poses a huge threat to this goal, and she wants no part in it. “She also tries to warn Nonka, but Nonka seems oblivious, so Hleziphi
then is determined to get herself out of trouble,” Sibongiseni adds.
THE RAT TRAP SNAPS
Hleziphi feels the walls closing in on her. “At this point she’s been getting louder and louder that she’s getting suspicious. Kwanda, on the other hand, is on high alert because of what he’s doing and he gets a sense that Hleziphi is onto something. Out of that, threats get thrown and Hleziphi realises that the closer she is to this situation, the more her life and her family are in serious danger.
But when she tries to quit the company, both Nonka and Kwanda tell her that she’ll get a 30% raise if she stays – and Kwanda adds that she should be concerned about her little brother’s life, knowing how much she adores her little brother. Hleziphi freaks out and realises that if there’s non-compliance, the one family member she still has might die,” explains Sibongiseni.
BEAUTY BUZZ: THE UGLY TRUTH
Hleziphi finally manages to open Lilly’s eyes in mid-August. “I will say this: Lilly’s suspicions obviously come much later down the line. Hleziphi’s suspicions are raised, like I mentioned earlier, by the sudden change of Nonka and Kwanda’s lifestyle upgrade. Where did all that money come from? She knows that it couldn’t have come from merely selling Nonka’s beauty products, especially because there hasn’t been this gargantuan buzz about her products,” Sibongiseni explains.
Lilly’s suspicions weigh heavy on her and because she’s an officer of the law with a sense of duty, she ends up having to uphold the law and do her job over having her sister’s back. Then Hleziphi stumbles upon some valuable evidence that threatens to bury Kwanda and Nonka. But will she use it? “You’ll have to stay tuned to find out!” Sibongiseni teases.