ACTOR Mangaliso Ngema has resigned from SABC1 drama series Family Secrets.
His resignation from the show, in which he played the lead role of Caesar Mokwena, was announced by South African Woman in Television Arts, the production company that produced it.
According to the company, Mangaliso’s resignation would enable him to attend to a legal matter pending in court in relation to the sexual harassment allegations levelled against him.
It further revealed that the remaining episodes would have a new lead character.
His resignation came months after actress Lorraine Moropa, who played Pabi on SABC2 drama series Lithapo, opened up about sexual harassment.
She alleged that the veteran actor had harassed her on set.
Opening up about the incident at the time, Lorraine took to Instagram to reveal that she was constantly sexually harassed by a senior male actor at work. But she did not name the perpetrator.
“Being constantly sexually harassed by a male senior at a workplace cannot and should not be tolerated,” she said.
“On 20 July, I experienced an incident of sexual harassment on set while filming Lithapo. This was the second reported incident caused by the same man whom I had reported earlier this year. I have had discussions with Quizzical Pictures in which it assured me of its intention to remedy the situation. I have been informed of the steps that it will be taking against the actor in question, and I am happy about them.”
She further thanked everyone for their support.
“Thank you to all the warriors standing with me. I am humbled by the response and support from many of you. Thank you to the wonderful women in the industry who are in this fight with me and encouraging me daily. It is humbling. To all the men standing beside me, thank you too!”
Speaking to Daily Sun, Mangaliso said he resigned because producers were being pressurised by the SABC to let him go as the lead character.
“This is due to the public outcry of why I’m part of the show while facing sexual harassment allegations. The show was at risk of being cancelled, so I offered to resign. I couldn’t keep on fighting to stay on. People can’t lose their jobs because of me, that’s not right,” he said.
“I have since taken a legal route with the matter, and have served my accuser with a summons. The case is fairly new. It was opened this week and I’m not sure when my court appearance will be,” he added.
The actor had previously denied the allegation in a video he posted on social media. He said the actress "totally misread the situation".
Lorraine’s lawyer Bradley Nowikow told Daily Sun that they had not seen the summons Mangaliso said he had served the actress with.
“We are not in a position to comment about the summons as we haven’t seen them,” he said, adding that Lorraine had not opened any case against the actor but might do so in the near future.
