Mam Sonto is Alex Township’s female criminal mastermind whose business interests include a popular tavern and car theft ring. If you have an expensive taste in cars but lack the money — or desire — to get a top of the range vehicle from a dealership, Mam Sonto (real name Connie Chiume) will get your wheels at only a fraction of the price. Unfortunately, in her business, sometimes blood is spilled. Wives become widows, men become widowers and children become orphans, all thanks to the flaming gun of Mam Sonto. Don’t let the sweet old lady appearance fool you, trust me.
Karma strikes Mam Sonto
The list of people sent to heaven, or hell, by Mam Sonto keeps growing. Her body count includes her mkhwenyana, Mbongeni Ndaba, former right hand man, Jomo, who was on the brink of turning state witness until Mam Sonto smothered him with a pillow, the learned friend, Rodney, Thathi’s lawyer, Gift the blackmailer who got greedy, Detective Mahlasela, an enthusiastic cop who was just doing his job and many others whom we are not aware of.
After a bleeding Bra Mike staggered down the aisle towards his bride, Mam Sonto, Sbonga telephoned emergency services. The cops must have heard only the important words: Mam Sonto, shooting, carjacking.
Their colleague, Detective Mahlasela disappeared during an investigation into Mam Sonto and her car theft ring, so the entire police station is aware that Sonto killed him, even though they don’t have the evidence to prove it. When police arrived at Mam Sonto’s, where she should have become Mike’s wife, they found her kneeling on the floor with her almost-husband’s lifeless body resting on her knee. The idiot, shot by Mazet, had chosen to crawl aaaaaall the way to his wedding, with a bullet lodged firmly inside him, rather than go to the Emergency Room and save himself. Perhaps he had seen the awful Durban General series and lost faith in South African health system. All the same, he died on Mam Sonto’s thigh. Legs will kill you.
The late Detective Mahlasela’s deputy smiled a satisfied smile as he watched Mam Sonto crying. She asked him why he was laughing, like she didn’t know that she had killed Mahlasela a month ago just as he got closer to putting her behind bars. Karma had avenged Mahlasela.
Find me Mike’s killer
Mam Sonto instructed former employee, Mazet to find the people who had killed Mike. I believe the killer was Karma, but what do I know, I’ve never lived a day in crime ridden Gomora. Mazet, with gunpowder scent on her pistol and guilt on her conscience, pledged to find the perpetrators. Maybe when you’re yellow and pretty, nobody ever suspects you could be guilty of murder.
Thathi immediately suspected Mazet, the two never saw eye to eye. When Mazet’s investigation into Mike’s death yielded little results, Thathi’s suspicions grew bigger. But Mam Sonto wouldn’t believe her.
RIP Bra Mike
Bra Mike’s funeral ceremony was held at Mam Sonto’s house, the same place where he had been scheduled to say “I do.” Rather than marriage vows, we heard “ashes to ashes, dust to dust” and Pretty’s moving funeral song. By the way, Pretty was not lypsincing to the lyrics. She is a real life singer. Look up Siyasanga Papu.
https://youtu.be/PYyrDC53-1M
Find a fall guy
London — Lindokuhle on his birth certificate — found Mazet (real name Siphesihle Ndaba) drinking alone and seemingly troubled. He probed and she confessed that she had committed a serious offence on a recent job. Lindokuhle not knowing exactly what Mazet had done, gave her a suggestion; find a fall guy on whom to pin your mistake.
Sdumo, Mohato’s former runner, found out through the underworld grapevine that Mazet had taken on a job to find a Gusheshe on the same day Bra Mike was killed. And Bra Mike happened to be driving a Gusheshe, as if he thought he was still 25 years old. Sdumo suggested to Thathi that Mazet could be the killer. Thathi shared this information with Mazet.
Mam Sonto summoned Mazet to her workshop. With gun in hand Mam Sonto asked if Mazet had made her a widow on her wedding day. Mazet would be foolish to admit to such a crime. She denied everything. But Mam Sonto seemed determined to get her revenge. Mazet offered up a name — Stompie. Yes, Stompie did it. That will do, Stompie. She had bought time.
“Bring him to me,” Sonto said.
Stompie is a small time Gomora crook but he had no idea what Mam Sonto was accusing him of. He didn’t know anything about Bra Mike the idiot crawling home instead of going to the Emergency Rooms. And at the mention of “emergency,” Mam Sonto’s phone rang. An emergency at the tavern. Mam Sonto had to leave her prisoner alone with Sdumo, London and Mazet.
Mazet may be a criminal but she still has a conscience. She got rid of London and Sdumo. Alone with Stompie she offered to untie him, as long as he punched her in the face and made his escape. Despite his reluctance to hit a girl, Stompie hit her giving her a plausible bloody nose before “escaping”.
When Mam Sonto returned, she ordered a man hunt for Stompie.
London blackmails Mazet
London hated school during his Gomora Secondary days. But his brain is as sharp as thug’s razor. He put two and two together: Mazet was the real killer and Stompie was just her scapegoat. Why else would she let Stompie escape.
Also, it was he who had suggested that Mazet find a fall guy in the first place.
He demanded R5,000 for his silence. The way Mazet fears Mam Sonto, London could have got more money out of her.
Ntokozo repents
After almost a month of rebellion, Ntokozo has finally gone back to being a good boy. But it took the death of Bra Mike to make him run back to his mother’s petticoats. He apologized to his parents who both believed in his contrition. But at night, his guilt visited him in the form of scary nightmares which his parents witnessed.
To explain the sudden nightmares, Ntokozo told his parents that he had impregnated Mazet and her boyfriend — a very dangerous man — was coming for him.
Melusi and Gladys went to confront Mazet – like she had grabbed Ntokozo and forced him onto her— eyeroll. Mazet knew nothing about any pregnancy. But through her criminal intuition, she sensed that it was important for Ntokozo that she plays along.
Once his parents were out the door, Ntokozo explained to her that he just wanted to kill his parents’ suspicion. Did I just make a killer pun there?
Teddy the snitch
Teddy already knows that Ntokozo killed Mbongeni Ndaba (real name Themba Ndaba) and he also knew that Mazet was not pregnant — thank God.
When Ntokozo went back to school against his parents’ wishes, he suffered a panic attack on his first day back. This left Teddy with no option but to tell Principal Dlamini about the fake pregnancy. Bro code violated right there. The Dlaminis needed a new strategy to deal with Ntokozo. Melusi’s slaps and knobkerrie intimidation hadn’t worked. Only God could save Ntokozo. It was time for family therapy and prophetic healing.
Did we miss something?
Mam Sonto and Bra Mike are a traditional couple. It therefore seems odd that they went straight into a white wedding without any mention of lobola negotiations. Unless these negotiations were held during load shedding, the writers missed something here.
Till next week, my pen is capped
Jerà
Gomora airs weekdays at 7:30pm on Mzansi Magic and is available on Showmax.
Images from twitter, videos from Mzansi Magic YouTube channel