by Thinus Ferreira

The 5th season of The River on 1Magic (DStv 103) has made casting additions in the form of a new Hlophe family whose members will be stirring the pot in the Tshedza Pictures produced local South African weekday telenovela.

The Hlophe family is described as “wealthy, excellent and
very, very dangerous.

The Hlophe family is led by traditional patriarch Bukhosi (played by Bheki
Mkhwane), described as being “as quick with his brain as he is with his gun. With a military
past that comes in handy for his work as a heist king, he’s brash, outspoken
and charming. He’s made of steel – so he’s not the one to cross”.

Bukhosi is married to a younger second wife, Nomafu
(played by Brenda Mhlongo).

She is described that “beneath her shiny and well-groomed exterior is a
tough woman who has clawed her way out of poverty. She’s a terrible stepmother
but she knows how to clean money – and she’s set to become Lindiwe Dikana’s
biggest rival yet”.

The Hlope sons are Mlilo (played by
Vuyo Biyela) and Nkanyiso (played by Unathi Mkhize).

They are the product of Bukhosi’s
first marriage and have a strained relationship with their father, but he
wants them to take over the family business.

“Mlilo is nothing like his father – yet he’s
everything like this father. Nkanyiso, on the other hand, is the more ambitious
second born son who wants to wear the crown. Will the boys put their rivalry
aside long enough for their family to continue thriving?” reads the official logline of the character descriptions.

The young daughter Khwezi (played by Tina Dlathu, real-life sister to Sindi
Dlathu, who plays Lindiwe), is described as “smart, beautiful, and virtuous yet naïve”.

She joins the
family business for the time being after they buy into Khanyisa Diamonds. 

“But
what happens when she finds herself in the middle of a situation that will rock
both the Hlophe and Dikana families to the core?”