Single-dad struggles

With a newborn baby girl, no mama, and two little boys, Nhlamulo learns why it takes a village to raise children.

- NKOSAZANA NGWADLA

Nhlamulo (Matthews Rantsoma) is still grieving the death of his wife Lindiwe (Nomvelo Makhanya), who passed away in November 2022 while giving birth to their baby girl following a high-risk pregnancy. Added to that horror, it has been touch and go with their newborn daughter, baby Larona (Azaria Leo), who's been in hospital ever since. Nhlamulo was nearly giddy with relief in the first week of February when he told his two older sons their baby sister would be coming home at last. But with a newborn on his hands, and two boys who are none too happy about his stern ground rules and expectations, Nhlamulo is about to get a taste of what being a dad really means ...

IN LOVING MEMORY Little Larona will be coming home to sheer love. While Nhlamulo was battling in hospital, his friends stepped up to decorate the nursery at home in the first week of February. "He realizes they decorated Larona's nursery exactly the way Lindiwe had planned it. His friends made sure Lindiwe's memory lived on through her vision for her daughter's nursery," Matthews says. It's fit for a princess, but it's a troubled kingdom.