Thembelani Mchunu and Thandekile Mthombeni have been traditionally married since December 2018 and have a son together. Seeing as they live together in the city, Mchunu decides to take a second wife to do what MaMthombeni refuses to: go back home and stay with Mchunu’s parents. We’ve heard that one before!
“When I paid lobola for MaMthombeni, we agreed that she would live with my parents back home … she then had a change of mind and said she wouldn’t be able to handle village life because she has been in the city for a long time,” Mchunu explains.
“Any other man would have decided to end things with MaMthombeni and marry someone else but, because she’s a good woman, I can’t let her go … that’s why I’ve decided to take a second wife,” he goes on. According to Mchunu, MaMthombeni doesn’t want to hear any of it.
The entanglements
Samkelisiwe Khumalo — the second-wife-to-be — and Mchunu have a tumultuous history. According to Mchunu, he and MaKhumalo actually started dating before Mchunu met MaMthombeni. MaKhumalo was already dating someone else when she was with Mchunu, and for a while she was dating both of them at the same time. However, MaKhumalo denies any cheating from her side. According to her, Mchunu was the one dating other women when they were together, and she knew him to be a liar when they were together.
Mseleku asks MaKhumalo about MaMthombeni and whether she’s aware that Mchunu is already married. MaKhumalo tells Mseleku that she doesn’t even believe that MaMthombeni is Mchunu’s wife. According to her, MaMthombeni is still Mchunu’s fiancée and she and MaMthombeni are on the same level when it comes to their relationship with Mchunu. Wow!
“It doesn’t sit well with me”
Mseleku and Mchunu finally speak to MaMthombeni and sit her down to tell her about the situation and what Mchunu’s intentions are.
All MaMthobeni asks Mchunu after his brief talk is, “are you done?”. MaMthobeni eventually starts putting the pieces together and tells everyone that she disapproves — explaining why she doesn’t like this situation:
“We discussed the matter about me going to live in the village, and I said I couldn’t because I am taking care of my mother and sisters. We agreed that we’d find someone to take care of mom at home. I agreed that I would pay the person, or we’d both contribute towards the payment.”
MaMthombeni says that she probably agreed to stay back home when things were cheerful and everyone was in a good mood, otherwise she is completely upset right now. “His reasons are valid but it doesn’t sit well with me,” MaMthombeni explains.
MaMthombeni vs MaKhumalo
As soon as MaKhumalo and MaMthombeni start having a conversation, things get heated. MaKhumalo begins by telling MaMthombeni that she and Mchunu met earlier before he got married, and it’s pretty clear that they are not going to stop dating, whether MaMthombeni approves or not.
Mseleku disapproves of this and says that MaKhumalo’s statement that she was here first is disrespectful. “It doesn’t matter that she came first. If she came first, why didn’t she stay? MaMthombeni is the bull in the kraal now,” Mseleku proclaims.
MaMthombeni asks MaKhumalo what step she will take next if MaMthombeni doesn’t agree to being sister wives, to which MaKhumalo says she doesn’t know what will happen but she won’t break up with Mchunu.
Mseleku then agrees to leave things as they are because this conversation is not going to have a conclusion. Mchunu ends the talk by leaving the two women alone to speak all by themselves. Coward!
Episode 9 of Mnakwethu S2 is available to watch on DStv online. All episodes are available until 26 October 2021.
Mnakwethu S1 and Mnakwethu: Happily Ever After are all available to binge-watch on Showmax.
