Sindi Dlathu leaving Muvhango; filming her final scenes at the end of October; Thandaza character won't be killed off and will exit in March 2018 on SABC2.

Sindi Dlathu is exiting SABC2's Venda weekday soap Muvhango and will be filming her last scenes at the end of this month, October, with the character of Thandaza whose on-screen exit will be seen on SABC2 during March 2018.

Sindi Dlathu is leaving Muvhango after 2 decades since she decided to "take a break from the production".

According to Morishe Matlejoane, associate producer at Muvhango, the Venda soap is not recasting the character and is also not killing off Thandaza - which leaves the door open for a return of Thandaza in the future.

"Muvhango has been more than a job to me, it has been my life for 20 years and I’ve loved and cherished every single moment of playing Thandaza," says Sindi Dlathu in a statement about her exit from the show.

"After 20 years I've decided to give the Thandaza character a break in order for me to grow as an artist, venture out to explore new opportunities and discover what I can do as an actress and as a human being."

Duma ka Ndlovu, Muvhango creator and executive producer says he has "cherished every single moment Sindi has been part of the shows I have done and she remains one of the most talented people I have ever worked with."

Jacqui Hlongwane, acting general manager for SABC TV channels says "Sindi has without a doubt been one of the major contributors to Muvhango's success over the years and how South African audiences have received, loved and supported her is testament to that."

SABC2's Venda soap Muvhango again warns the South African public over yet another fake casting call scam; drops a casting agency it used.

Muvhango is once again warning against yet another fake casting scam involving the SABC's Venda soap and has now even gone as far as dumping a legitimate casting agency its used for years.

The Word of Mouth Productions soap which in previous years had to warn people not to fall prey to fake casting exploitation and not to pay money for fake auditions, is once again warning people about a casting scam and says it has also cut ties with Becky Casting Agency.

Muvhango says potential soap stars should never ever have to pay for an audition or a screen test.

"Muvhango would like to disassociate ourselves from the acting scam currently making rounds in and around Johannesburg," says the soap's associate producer, Morishe Matlejoane.

"The scam invites prospective actors to audition or screen test for different characters at 224 Louis Botha avenue Orange Groove venue in Orange Grove for a fee of R300."

"The scammers unfortunately used the name of a casting agency we have been doing business with for years and as a result we are left with no choice but to cut ties with Becky Casting Agency as their name was roped in from an e-mail we had sent to the agency," says Morishe Matlejoane.

"Production companies don't charge a fee for auditions or screening and any company or individual who does so, is committing fraud. We would like to encourage the victims of this scam to report the matter at the police station nearest to the venue of the bogus auditions."

SABC2 soap Muvhango slams the South African Film and Television Awards over 'growing scepticism'; says it won't be part of the Saftas due to 'major credibility issues'.

The SABC2 soap Muvhango is slamming the South African Film and Television Awards (Saftas) for what it calls "growing scepticism" over the judges and judging process, saying the awards show isn't run independently enough to be a fair and isn't true reflection of the best of South African television.

The Saftas that took place at Gallagher Estate this past weekend has been the subject of repeated criticism every year about how the award show is run, how shows are nominated and selected, how it's judged, who the judges are and over the perceived exclusion of women, minorities and smaller - especially black - producers.

This year Muvhango was again nowhere to be seen due to an ongoing boycott of the awards show, with the country's only Venda soap that was also not included in the soap live performance tribute.

In previous years SABC2's 7de Laan and kykNET's Binnelanders didn't feature, and e.tv also pulled all its productions as well as soaps Scandal! and Rhythm City from Saftas contention.

This year viewers were not able to vote for SABC2's Muvhango in the Most Popular Soap category or for SABC1's Uzalo. It again, as in previous years, meant a hollow victory for SABC1's Skeem Saam since an incomplete list means viewers are not truly able to vote for who they want.

Adding to the irony is that Uzalo is SABC1's most watched show overall and most watched soap, and that Muvhango is SABC2's most watched show overall and most watched soap - both "most popular" in terms of the AR's of South Africa's TAMS viewership ratings system .

The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) excluded Muvhango from the Most Popular Soap category that viewers vote for this year because the Word of Mouth Productions didn't enter itself into any other categories, and said Uzalo was not a soap but a drama.

"For a number of years there has been growing scepticism around the process followed by the organisers," Muvhango associate producer Morishe Matlejoane says in a statement to TVwithThinus.

Muvhango says it will sit out the Saftas "indefinitely" until "a marked improvement is noted in the category nominations and selection process of the judges".

"In any contest where judges are selected 'within' the system and not independently set to be true independent critics, there will always be room to question," says the soap.

"The Saftas are not independently run to fully encompass every broadcast to give a true reflection of the South African TV landscape," says the soap. "There are people working alongside those who are nominated, people working for rival production companies, which all leads to major credibility issues".

"Until a solid and fair approach is taken in the selection process, we think it's unjustifiable to place our incredible cast and crew ensemble under the scrutiny of a system that is arguably unstandardised," says Morishe Matlejoane.

In response the NFVF tells TVwithThinus that "we have acknowledged that there is a need to refine the process of the Saftas, guidelines for submissions and the judging process".

"We are actively addressing this through ongoing engagement with the industry".

"There has been a recent marked improvement and firsts, namely this year saw the Saftas experiencing real transformation in terms of the nominations with over 40% being nominated to African individuals or production companies. Last year the percentage was lower at 26%".