The former wife of revered South African playwright Mbongeni Ngema, Xoliswa Nduneni-Ngema, has accused Sarafina protagonist Leleti Khuma...
The former wife of revered South African playwright
Mbongeni Ngema, Xoliswa Nduneni-Ngema, has
accused Sarafina protagonist Leleti Khumalo of being in an adulterous
relationship with her former husband while they were married over 30 years ago.
The playwright's ex-wife who is the boss of Johanessburg City Theatres, said she left
Joburg in 1985 and went to KwaZulu-Natal to finish her degree, leaving the
Sarafina crew, including Khumalo and her husband to continue with the work of
the theatrical drama in preparation for a series of overseas performances.
She said she was shocked when she discovered that Khumalo
and her husband were sleeping together. She lost it.
“Because I couldn’t deal physically with Mbongeni, I thought
I should reach for the low hanging fruit. At the back of the hotel we were
using as our base was the Oriental Plaza parking lot and in it there were some
trees. I cut a nice steady switch from one of the branches. I took it back to
the old hotel, back to the room I shared with Mbongeni.
“The girls scuttled out of the room, screaming
in shock. I fell on Leleti. I beat her. I beat her. But I was careful not to
hit on her face. I also did not want to beat her on her legs. She had to go on
the stage and perform the following day. So with my stick I concentrated on her
body. She screamed, crying for mercy, crying for help. There was no mercy from
me…’ After all I’ve done for you, you kick me in the face, bitch!’. I beat her
at my own leisure, knowing that Mbongeni was still at Kippie’s Jazz Club
drinking. I beat her until she was silent."
She said when Mongeni returned, he intervened and started
beating her with the switch she had beat Khumalo with. It was then she decided
to end the marriage.
“I was in my early 20s, I was new in the marriage, no-one
was guiding me about how you behave when your husband is kicking you. And this
is a child who was under my care. It was a stressful period for me.
“If this happened at
a different time, I would have spoken to her instead of resorting to violence
because I was experiencing violence. I am not a violent person, I just walk
away from [bad] situations.”
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| Leleti now |
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