Imbewu (known in its first two seasons as Imbewu: The Seed) is a South African soapie created by Duma Ndlovu which revolves around the Bhengu family, who must live in the shadow of a potent secret stemming from ancient traditional practice.
One side of the Bhengu family has been keeping a secret from the other for many years, with treachery and tumult never more than a step away.
Brothers Zimele and Phakade are both honorable men, but one will feel betrayed when he learns of a deep secret that could leave a stain on the legacy he hopes to leave for his four children.
Ambitious business tycoon, Zimele "Ngcolosi" Mkhize, has his heart set on becoming South Africa's first black oil baron, a legacy he wants to leave to his four children.
But things take an unexpected turn when he makes a shocking discovery. Will the truth tear his life and family apart or will he suffer silently and pass his legacy on to another man's seed?
The series follows Ngcolosi Bhengu, a self-made millionaire, who along with his two business partners, Pranav Rampersad, and Zane Johnson; have built Maluju Oil; an oil company worth a hundred million rand.
Pranav and Zane are not mere shareholders and business partners to Ngcolosi - these are men with whom he's travelled a long journey; men he considers brothers.
In his younger years, Ngcolosi was driven by his raw ambition and a single-minded desire to succeed. Now a man in his late forties and still full of energy and zeal, his focus is on consolidating power and leaving a legacy. Not only is the continuation of the family name important to him, but its natural association with prestige and wealth.
Knowing that neither of his brothers will willingly relinquish their equity, he knows that this can only be achieved through, heavy-handedness, cunning or deceit.
If this were against any other person, it wouldn't matter. It certainly wouldn't be the first time Ngcolosi has used any of these strategies, but the difference this time is that these are men he considers family.
The second, and more crucial event is the shock discovery by Ngcolosi that the children he's raised, that bear his name – are not his biological children.
A few years into their marriage, MaZulu, Ngcolosi's wife, had not produced any children, much less a boy. At this stage, Ngcolosi had already been talking about children and she began to suffer under the pressure of expectation.
Scared and fearing that the problem was with her, MaZulu sought medical intervention, only to find that she was fertile, which meant that the problem was with Ngcolosi. He was the one that was impotent.
This was a truth MaZulu could not tell her husband, and instead brought the matter before her mother-in-law and family matriarch MaNdlovu. With all other avenues closed, MaNdlovu, a strong and decisive woman sought a traditional solution.
Though Phakade is the bearer of the seed, the custom dictates that Ngcolosi bears full paternal rights to the children. Custom furthermore forbids that the beneficiary ever know that such a ritual was practiced.
The world of Imbewu is a reflection of the unique interaction between rural and urban lifestyles in South Africa. It aims to showcase the struggles and conflicts between home and corporate settings and the emotional tension created by the economic gap between the haves and have-nots.
One of the families central to the plot of the shows is the Bhengu family, comprising MaZulu (Leleti Khumalo), MaNdlovu (Thembi Mtshali-Jones), Ngcolosi (Mpumelelo Bhulose), Zithulele (Raphael Griffiths), Priscilla (Fundi Zwane) and Khanyo (Nqobile Ndlovu).
The family also features Vuyokazi Tshona as Buhle, Nokubonga Khuzwayo as Zakhithi, Xolani Mfeka as Nganono, Sandile Dlamini as Phakade and Nokwanda Khuzwayo as Futhi.
Imbewu was created by Duma Ndlovu and is produced by Grapevine Productions in association with Word of Mouth Pictures, Videovision Entertainment and Luyks Productions. The executive producers are Anant Singh, Leleti Khumalo and Duma Ndlovu.