Rebel With A Cause

Nontle is a step closer to getting the mother-daughter relationship she’s always wanted with Ayanda.

- Ipeleng Rakgantsho

The tension between Ayanda (Samela Tyelbooi) and her daughter Nontle (Buntu Petse) is so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Even after the 16-year-old quits high school and moves in with her mother this fortnight, she still feels neglected and alone. Because if Ayanda’s mind isn’t wrapped up in her sexual assault case against her shady ex-colleague Joshua (Sean Brebnor) who raped her in June, she’s spending time with her boyfriend Tau (Rapulana Seiphemo). “Nontle has abandonment issues. Her mom sent her to boarding school in Cape Town and they’ve never built a connection,” explains Buntu.

Being the last on her mother’s list leaves Nontle annoyed. “It’s too much for the teen. All she ever wanted was to have a real mother-daughter bond and she is insecure with Tau always around. Nontle retaliates and takes out her frustrations on poor old Tau,” reveals Buntu, whose character will do anything to get her mother’s attention, even if it means infuriating Ayanda.

THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG