In the five years that telenovela The River has been on air, ruthless mine owner Lindiwe Dlamini-Dikana (Sindi Dlathu) has remained undefeated. She constantly gets away with murder – without so much as an arrest!
And if you dare cross her, you’ll wind up six feet under. For that reason alone, people around her are terrified to stand up to her, but all that comes to an end this fortnight when she meets the equally vicious Hlophes, who buy a stake in Lindiwe’s Khanyisa Diamonds mine.
Lindiwe gets off on the wrong foot with matriarch Nomafu Hlophe (Brenda Mhlongo, ex-KaMadonsela in soapie Imbewu, see more p28). “Nomafu refuses to take Lindiwe’s orders, or anyone else’s for that matter. She is just as fierce and headstrong as Lindiwe,” explains Brenda, whose character is hellbent on outshining Lindiwe.
As season 5 of The River unfolds, Nomafu plots Lindiwe’s downfall at Khanyisa Diamonds. Just a warning to Nomafu though: If she thinks that she’ll get away with stealing Lindiwe’s mine, she has another thing coming, because Lindiwe will fight back. May the best queen reign supreme!
GOLDDIGGER vs DIAMOND QUEEN
Like Lindiwe, Nomafu is a woman with few redeeming qualities. They are both selfish, power-hungry, and they’re willing to do whatever it takes to get to the top – even kill.
The difference between Lindiwe and Nomafu however, is that while Lindiwe worked hard to grasp her success, Nomafu raked in her pile of gold as a trophy wife.
She is married to gangster Bukhosi (Bheki Mkhwane, ex-Sampson in soapie Isibaya), who sells blood diamonds and robs banks with his sons Mlilo (newcomer Vuyo Biyela) and Nkanyiso (newcomer Unathi Mkhize) from his first marriage. Bukhosi seeks to create a legacy for his family and what better way than to buy into the country’s most prominent mine, Lindiwe’s Khanyisa Diamonds?
“Nomafu has always wanted to become rich and famous. She told herself that she was going to [tolerate] Bukhosi because he provides a lavish life for her,” explains Brenda, whose character has no intention of forming a relationship with her stepsons. “Nomafu doesn’t care about Mlilo and Nkanyiso and they can see through her – that she only joined their family for money. They dislike her for using their father to climb the social ladder,” adds Brenda.