From the infamous Enyobeni Tavern tragedy to WSU student, Sibongile Mani, who instantaneously became a millionaire when NSFAS erroneously deposited R14m into her account in 2017, several Eastern Cape headline-hoggers will once again take the spotlight when a new Showmax true crime documentary anthology hits the small screen.
The show, titled Imibuzo (questions) will revisit some of SA’s biggest news events in the last decade, answering lingering questions about the subjects that hogged national and international headlines for months on end.
The Eastern Cape features in at least four episodes which focus on incidents that took place in the province.
In one episode, Imibuzo zooms into the death of East London woman Phumeza Pepeta who was gunned down by her cross-dressed ex-husband while she attended her father’s funeral in KwaNobuhle in Nelson Mandela Bay in 2020.
Pepeta’s ex-husband Xolani Mkayi, was sentenced in the Gqeberha high court to an effective 25 years’ imprisonment late last year, about two years after he dressed up in a skirt, high heels, sunglasses and a wig to murder her in full view of her family at the Matanzima Cemetery.
Another episode, revisits the story of televangelist Timothy Omotoso who has been in prison for six years on charges of rape, human trafficking and racketeering.
Omotoso was arrested at the Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport in Gqeberha in 2017 after the Nigerian televangelist and Jesus Dominion International senior pastor allegedly trafficked women and girls from various branches of his church and took them to a house in Umhlanga Rocks‚ KwaZulu-Natal‚ where they were sexually exploited.
His on-and-off trial still continues at the Gqeberha high court.
The show is produced by Media24’s POP24 who produced This Body Works For Me and SAFTA-nominated true crime anthology Huisgenoot: Ware Lewensdramas.
POP24’s head of content Zinzi Velelo said the show’s creators had an incredible archive to draw from.
“The news cycle is shorter than ever these days, but our new interviews on Imibuzo show that these stories have had a lasting impact on everyone involved,” Velelo said.
“Life in SA is full of twists and turns you don’t see coming. In some cases, time can bring perspective but it’s clear that the wounds are still raw.
“These stories deserve to never be forgotten.”
Imibuzo premiers on May 8, with the first episode set to be on the 2015 murder of Nkululeko Habedi, better known as Flabba from multi-award-winning hip hop group Skwatta Kamp.
Habedi was stabbed to death by his then girlfriend, Sindisiwe Manqele, who was released on parole last year, after serving eight years behind bars.
Imibuzo viewers will hear from family, friends, Skwatta Kamp members, journalists, investigators and legal experts who will give first-hand accounts of what happened.
Other episodes will reinvestigate the murder of Tshegofatso Pulse, who went missing in 2020 after visiting her boyfriend, Ntuthuko Shoba, and was found dead four days later, eight months pregnant.
The murder of LGBTQIA+ musician and activist Lindokuhle Cele, who was stabbed 21 times in a shop in Umlazi by someone he knew, will also come under the spotlight.
ibusiso Mpungose, who was found guilty of murdering his three biological children as well as his stepdaughter — all under 16 years old, also features.
The murder of Tshepang Pitse, whose body parts were found in her husband, Flavio Hlabangwane’s freezer and the 2017 murder of 22-year-old Karabo Mokoena, whose burnt body was found in a field, leading to the conviction of her boyfriend, Sandile Mantsoe, will also captivate viewers.
New episodes will be released every Monday until July 10.
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