'Real Housewives of Durban' stars accused of tribalism

The cast of the ’Real Housewives of Durban’. Picture: Supplied

The cast of the ’Real Housewives of Durban’. Picture: Supplied

Published Apr 16, 2021

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Some stars of the “Real Housewives of Durban” are in hot water with viewers.

The hit reality series, which streams on Showmax, trends every Friday, however this week it was for all the wrong reasons.

This week a conversation that has been brewing on social media for the past few weeks come to a boiling point.

It all started when cast member Nonkanyiso “Laconco” Chonco invited only Zulu-speaking cast members to an event she hosted.

Those cast members included Ayanda Ncwane and Nonku Williams.

Sorisha Naidoo, Anne-Tonni Lodick-Mthembu and Kgomotso Ndungane were not invited.

When asked why she did not invite the other ladies, Laconco said that she wanted all her guests to be comfortable and anticipated that the language barrier between her guests (many of whom were not cast members of the show) would become a problem.

Although the ladies accepted her reasoning, many of them found it a “weak excuse”, with Kgomotso further challenging Laconco.

“I am Tswana, I am married to a Xhosa man and I live in KZN. So I might not be fluent but if you have a chat with me in Zulu, I’ll be able to understand you. You always preaching women empowerment, you are actually empowering me to learn about your tribe,“ said Kgomotso.

In her confessional, Sorisha called Laconco the “dodgeball queen”.

In the finale, viewers found offence in a conversation between Ayanda and Laconco.

The pair were discussing recent drama with Laconco saying she wanted to ask Kgomotso what language she was fluent in since she spoke “terrible English and Setswana”.

Ayanda then went on to say that Kgomotso was not black. While the subtitles read “She is not black, she’s Tswana”, viewers felt that Ayanda was out of line for making that comment and labelled it tribalist.

— Yolanda Nxesi (@Yolanda85463020) April 15, 2021

Person in isiZulu is “umuntu”, the word Ayanda used. A black person in isiZulu is “umuntu omnyama”, which she did not say.

See reactions below:

— Yolanda Nxesi (@Yolanda85463020) April 16, 2021
— Yolanda Nxesi (@Yolanda85463020) April 15, 2021

Responding to the backlash, Nomsa Philiso, MultiChoice Channel Director: Local Entertainment said, “As a streaming platform, Showmax does not endorse any actions or comments made on any of the content available, be it reality TV or fictional series and movies or documentaries.

“We believe good content should encourage debate and discussions on key issues in our society. As a company, Showmax believes South Africa belongs to all who live in it. We reject any form of discrimination.”

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