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| Snake in the grassss |
Tonight Diphuka (played by Bonolo Moeketsi) makes a comeback to RC in search of the bright city lights and a blazing career in showbiz.
Diphuka - who goes by the nickname Puki - is the niece of Lucilla Vilakazi (KB Motsilanyane).
She's 19, part precious princess and a whole lot of the great pretender.
She, and her mother, Connie (Lucilla’s younger sister), visited Lu last month at her invitation, as she felt a little lost, lonely, and overwhelmed roaming around the new mansion her new lover, media tycoon in the making, David Genaro (Jamie Bartlett), had just bought and decorated on her behalf.
David is devouring Lu’s life with his having taken over the reins of Redemption Records and his plans to re-launch her into the music scene.
Lu, a former financial director, is now a stay-at-home socialite who practices scales in her spare time.
Connie and Puki also attended the private cleansing ceremony of the house that David organised, and to which the whole staff of Redemption Records were invited.
Puki can’t understand why Lu seems so unsettled and (at times) ungrateful about her life. In her opinion David is a little intense, maybe way more than strange, but for a white guy, he’s OK. He’s powerful, rich and charismatic. By all accounts, Lu is well rid of her husband Miles (Peter Se-Puma) from whom she’s estranged.
Puki, who adores her aunt (who often recognises her younger reckless self in her niece), reckons Lu has got it made and wants some of the pie.
David appoints Puki as an intern at Redemption Records. Marketing and PR manager, Bernard (Robert Hobbs) is told by David to teach her the ropes. She will soon become his sounding board. Puki comes across as extremely young, naïve, a little wide-eyed and breathless: the girl is following closely in Aunt Lu’s footsteps.
As she wangles her way in she becomes quite a parasite and will prove to be good in the art of manipulation, pulling people’s strings while remaining unobserved, in the background…until she decides to step forward
Puki appears eager to please and she's anxious to learn. David likes her.
A lot.
She amuses him.
More about Bonolo MoeketsiBonolo is 24, a Gemini, hails originally from Mafikeng and has a drama diploma from the National School of Arts. She is currently studying PR (“you have to balance the business part of it”) and appeared in the movie, Twisted.
She says the only characteristics she shares with Puki, is her ambition and the drive to succeed. Bonolo’s special skills include dancing, writing poetry and Muay Thai (“it’s good for discipline”).
What scares her? “Driving. I just got my licence, last week!”
The most daring thing she’s ever done? “I stood up for what I believed in. As a young African woman, you are raised to believe you should take everything your elders say as gospel, but I learnt to stand up for myself without being disrespectful.”
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