'Durban Gen' actors, Nompumelelo Mthombeni as Agatha and Nelisiwe Sibiya as Mbali

‘Durban Gen’ actors Nompumelelo Mthombeni as Agatha and Nelisiwe Sibiya as Mbali. Image via Twitter @DurbanGen_etv

‘Durban Gen’: Cultural experts outraged by cleansing ritual episode

Cultural experts state that the cleansing ritual episode in the e.tv telenovela ‘Durban Gen’ is a ‘distortion of culture’.

'Durban Gen' actors, Nompumelelo Mthombeni as Agatha and Nelisiwe Sibiya as Mbali

‘Durban Gen’ actors Nompumelelo Mthombeni as Agatha and Nelisiwe Sibiya as Mbali. Image via Twitter @DurbanGen_etv

Cultural experts are offended by the ritual episode which aired last Friday 29 October in Durban Gen.  

In the episode, Agatha Dlamini (Nompumelelo Mthombeni), who is still mourning the death of her husband, is performing a cleansing ritual on Mbali (Nelisiwe Sibiya).  

Loyiso Nqevu, who is a cultural expert, told Daily Sun that Agatha couldn’t have performed the ritual in real life.  

‘Durban Gen’ scene a ‘distortion of culture’

He said the scene is a distortion of culture as someone who is still under a dark cloud cannot perform a cleansing ritual.  

“They both need to be cleansed. The mother-in-law is also unclean therefore the cleansing ceremony would be unsuccessful.”   

Nqevu also added that the cleansing process includes taking the widow to a flowing river.  

Also read: ‘You need money!’: ‘Durban Gen’ actress Sthandwa Nzuza on polygamy

‘DURBAN GEN’S’ BEAUTY CONTEST SCAM  

The e.tv telenovela recently sent out a warning to audiences about a beauty contest scam.  

This is after a poster did the rounds on social media that stated that the show would host a beauty contest on 18 December.   

The poster used the photos of actors, Lihle Dlomo (Dr Precious Dlamini), and Mike Ndlangamandla (Dr Lindelani Zulu) to promote the scam.   

Nomfundo Zondi who is the spokesperson for Stained Glass TV’s told Daily Sun that the show has nothing to do with the scam.   

Zondi said the telenovela does not host beauty contests as they’re a TV production company. She also added that the show doesn’t have upcoming beauty storylines.  

“This is a false advert. It’s unfortunate that Durban Gen’s name is used.”  

The Duban-based telenovela also warned viewers of fake social media accounts after viewers stated that they were about to submit entries for the beauty fraud.