After Thathi produced evidence connecting Mam Sonto to Jomo on the night that Mbongeni Ndaba was shot during a carjacking, Sonto was taken into police custody. But unlike her foot soldier, Jomo, who quickly cracked under interrogation, Gomora’s queen of crime remained uninitiated.
On the outside, Sonto’s household was falling apart, if not falling onto each other’s throats.
Sister-sister battle
After Sonto was arrested, Pretty slapped her older sister, Thathi across the face. It seems anyone who feels like slapping someone makes a beeline to poor Thathi.
But when threats of violence did not work, Pretty decided to lock her sister, nephew and niece out in the Jozi winter. Sbonga, who so far has played the role of Switzerland – all neutrality and no spine – attempted to advocate for his sister in law, but even the Alex rats know that nobody listens to the man! Note to self, note to every bachelor; never marry a woman who does not respect you. But Thathi did not land a billionaire husband just by luck. She is a schemer. She went and got the police to deal with her stubborn sister. When the police arrived, Pretty finally opened the door. But the war was from over.
Cold baths in winter
What do you do when you have an unwanted housemate who you can’t evict? You make the home as uninhabitable as possible. After Pretty and her family – daughter Tshiamo and the much ignored Sbonga – had taken their morning bath, she switched off the geyser leaving the Ndabas to share a bath with Jack Frost. She also padlocked the fridge, pulled out the TV smart card and hid it, in an attempt to drive her sister and the children out. But Thathi bought her own electricity units and food. Tshiamo, who, like Daddy Switzerland is also craving peace, stole the smart card and surreptitiously handed it to cousin Langa.
When slaps, threats and cold water showers failed, Pretty sunk to groveling.
“Please ask the police to drop the charges”
But Thathi was not having it; after all, Sonto not only killed the goose that lays the golden eggs, she also put Thathi right back among the Alex rodents where she hoped to never return.
Mam Sonto seeks prison break
Meanwhile, back in remand prison, Mam Sonto asked Zanele to find her a fall guy. Zanele’s uncle was chosen to be the sacrificial lamb who would be financially compensated in exchange for admitting to being the carjacking mastermind. But even for money, he refused, sensing that Sonto would kill him once he is behind bars. Which isn’t an entirely absurd assumption; she did kill Jomo.
Next, Sonto reached out to Thathi, but her daughter refused to meet her.
When everything else failed, Sonto demanded a lawyer. Detective Kolisi made the arrest way too prematurely. Rather than build a solid case, she arrested Sonto simply for having called Jomo before and after the carjacking. Kolisi, realising that her case was weak, released Sonto.
First thing that Sonto did upon her release was to – you guessed it – slap Thathi. Seriously, I am losing count of the slaps on Gomora; Thathi has been on the receiving end of most of these klaaps.
But even with her cheek burning and ear ringing, Thathi stood her ground and dismissed Sonto’s crocodile tears. She told her to her face: you’re a murderer!
Kolisi’s case will be probably be weakened by the release of Sonto. By the time the detective gets a warrant to search Sonto’s office, the crafty old woman will probably have incinerated whatever trace of evidence exists.
The battle for Teddy
Gladys and Zodwa continued their fight for Teddy. After Gladys threatened to put Teddy into foster care — which she can do because she is a social worker — Zodwa dug up incriminating screenshots of Gladys’ past. We learnt that the angelic Gladys aborted a pregnancy without the knowledge of her husband Melusi. Gasp!
This scene really underscored the perpetual struggle for African women; black women’s lives are held to an impossibly high standard. There are many reasons why women choose to abort their unborn embryos, but you only have to mention “abortion” and a woman’s reputation is smeared beyond even the power of even the strongest bleach. At the same, Zodwa is constantly judged for not knowing the paternity of her son Teddy. Does anybody judged all the men who took turns to sleep with Zodwa?
After the intervention of Melusi, Gladys seems to be giving Teddy back to his biological mother.
But how is Zodwa going to feed and clothe Teddy? The temptation of working in a place of alcohol and drunkards finally got to her. She quit her job at Mnandi Shisanyama, fearing that she might fall off the wagon. And Gladys would just love to see that happen.
Ntokozo needs love too
You’ve got to feel sorry for both Teddy and Ntokozo. To make up for his mother’s loneliness, Teddy washed, massaged and toweled her feet try. But he has two mothers, so he did the same for Gladys during the day of pampering organized by him, Ntokozo and Melusi. In trying to hold onto Teddy, Ntokozo is also beginning to feel neglected. As Gladys tries to save one child, she might just lose another.
Till next week, my pen is capped
Jerà
Images from Twitter
Gomora airs weekdays at 7:30pm on Mzansi Magic – DSTV