Tragedy strikes Thandekile

Thandekile is compelled to confront her past after her mother MaMkhize is admitted at the hospital.

- IPELENG RAKGANTSHO

When childhood trauma is left untreated, a single trigger could send someone over the edge. For years, impassive medical intern Thandekile Zondo (Fanele Luthuli) hid her past hurt. “She has trained her brain to brush her emotions aside. Thandekile is so good at it that everyone describes her as brash and robotic,” explains Fanele. But when Thandekile’s ailing mother MaMkhize (Bongekile Ndaba, who she hasn’t spoken to in a while, arrives at Durban Gen for treatment, the medical star is disorientated. “For the first time, we see Thandekile behave out character. She didn’t expect to see her mother at her workplace, not by a long shot,” adds the actress. Now Thandekile is left with no choice but to face MaMkhize and address their issues that she’s been running from.

THE NAIL IN THE COFFIN

As far as Thandekile recalls, their relationship has always been strained. “As a kid, she felt unloved, and unlike her younger siblings who developed a connection with their mother, Thandekile was sidelined. She even questioned if she was her mother’s biological daughter as MaMkhize detested Thandekile,” explains the actress.