Muvhango rocked by a big sexual harassment scandal
Of late Muvhango has made all sorts of headlines from troubled viewership to the mass exodus of star actors. Well, it seems as if the showrunners are in deep trouble after some off-screen sexual allegations went viral. Could be this the reason why some seasoned actresses dropped the show in the eleventh hour. Who knows?
It seems as if Muvhango has been rocked by a sexual harassment scandal. The daring scandal has resulted in the acrimonious fallout between general manager Mbijana Manatha and creator Duma Ndlovu. However, those who are familiar with showbiz can relate to Manatha and Ndlovu friendship. Manatha and Ndlovu are long-time friends who grew up together in Soweto.
However, their friendship seems to have turned south. The reason being Manatha has been implicated in a sexual scandal behind the scenes. Manatha believes the accusations were part of Ndlovu’s elaborate plan to kick him to the kerb for cancelling a lucrative catering tender that the company awarded to Ndlovu’s female acquaintance.
However, according to inside sources, the incident happened last year but it’s yet to be resolved. In the wake of these daring allegations, Manatha believes the accusations were part of Ndlovu’s elaborate plan to kick him to the kerb. Rumour has it Manatha cancelled a lucrative catering tender that the company awarded to Ndlovu’s female acquaintance.
Rumour has it that the allegations levelled against Manatha were reported late last year. It has been established that a staffer, who cannot be named for legal reasons, laid a sexual harassment complaint against Manatha last year. However, according to close sources the staffer didn’t report the issues at the very moment as it wasn’t much of a big deal to her.
Muvhango rocked by a big sexual harassment scandal
Word of the streets has it that some people had to use this case to pin Manatha down. The sexual harassment act happened in Auckland Park, Joburg.
The victim has it that she was at a water cooler, whilst she was taking water she had some hands around her hips. She alleged that when she turned around she saw Manatha who said:
“Kudala ngifuna ukukuthinta esinqeni sakho, khona nam’ ngizosolwa isexual harassment [I’ve always wanted to touch your waist so I can also be accused of sexual harassment].”
She said she then laughed it off and made small talk with him about the new offices. However, Manatha has indicated that he only poked the alleged complaint. Manatha had this to say.
“He stated that she bent over and that her back was exposed. He stated that he patted her on the back with his finger and said ‘don’t expose your figure.’ He said he did not touch the exposed part of the employees’ body and also denied that he put his hands on her waist, adding they then laughed and carried on making coffee.
The source also said a law firm, which was contracted to conduct investigations, did not pronounce Manatha guilty of sexual harassment but suggested that because of his seniority in the company, he apologise to the complainant. The firm also recommended that a written warning be given to him, but Manatha refused to apologise.
Ndlovu and new CEO Mandla ka- Nozulu also tried to coerce Manatha to apologise in exchange, so that the complainant does not press criminal charges against him, but he refused and chose to go to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). The CCMA did not find him guilty of the alleged offence.