Unefa and I Blew It show two sides of the same coin

In reality series Unefa and I Blew It, both streaming on Showmax, we see ordinary South Africans getting gifted with unexpected, large amounts of money. In Unefa, it’s cash inherited from a deceased relative, and in I Blew It, the lucky recipients got their moolah from sources such as the lotto, the Road Accident Fund and even SARS.

Here are some of the most touching – and outrageous – episodes from Unefa and I Blew It.

Unefa

Host Motlatsi Mafatshe (The River, It’s Complicated) is on the prowl, disguised from head to toe as every character from a rapper to the cool uncle … but his true mission is to help those who’ve been left destitute by dead loved ones, unaware that there’s an inheritance that they’re due. And Motlatsi is about to change their lives.

“I know their world and their pain. I come from that world as my father died when I was young and our family has never received any of our inheritance,” says the host. And the season starts with one of the saddest stories…

Episode 1: Siyabonga Makhathini

Siya never knew his dad. He moved away when Siya’s mom Zodwa fell pregnant and he wanted nothing to do with his family, opting for cheap dates with other women who would give him what he wanted. Then he died when Siya was two years old, and Siya has a blank memory where his hero should be.

After years of wandering around aimlessly, 23-year-old Siyabonga has given up on his hopes and dreams and moved in with his mom and four siblings in Plastic City in Brakpan – and the saddest part is that he wanted to be a policeman like his dad, a hero and a fighter for the law, protecting those who need it most… like Siya. 

Episode 3: Mandy Mandisa Mayisa

Twenty-one-year-old Mandy has spent the last six years missing her mom. She passed away mysteriously in hospital after the family were told, “she’s getting better”. To this day, the young woman not only has questions about what happened to her mom, but why.

“I don’t remember more than what I see in the photos. I was young and I miss my mother,” she says. And even though she was surrounded by her big family, including her aunts who protected her and helped raise her, it’s not the same. 

Episode 9: Rose Mahlangu and Happiness Mthimunye

There’s nothing happy when Happiness and her mom, Rose, reveal their story. Rose was working as a single mom to bring home any salary to support her family, leaving Happiness with her granny. “Living with my grandmother was great because my mom was working,” says Happiness. “My grandmother loved children. She was very straightforward – she didn’t like disorderly children. She was a mother, father and grandmother to us all.” And she taught Happiness well, says Rose.

“If you tell them to do anything differently, they tell you that’s what their grandmother taught them.” But that joy and happiness ended the day that Happiness’s beloved Gogo died in front of her. Did she leave one last gift?

I Blew It

What would you do if you were suddenly on the receiving end of a large financial windfall?

The problem with too much money is that you buy foolish things. Got a tax refund from SARS? Go buy that llama in the window! Got a discount on a big spurge and you’ve got cash left over? That’s right – the self-flushing toilet with disco lights is going to be the perfect addition to your home! But what happens when you’re left more money than you could imagine and have free rein with bad spending habits? You blow it and you’re left with nothing but misery and empty pockets.

We’ve rounded up some of the most ill-advised uses for unexpected cash in I Blew It to show you how not to spend it!

PS: Showmax has all four seasons to date, so there are loads of tragically bad ideas waiting to entertain you.

Season 1 episode 4: Clothes, cars and girls

Tumelo describes his brother Martin as hyperactive: “there’s never a dull moment with him”. Connie calls her son Martin “different to the other children”. And neither is wrong – he’s a good guy, but Martin’s money is a problem… because he misuses it as soon as he gets it.

When he was 15, he was knocked down by a car. It was serious and he almost died from internal bleeding – he had emergency surgery to remove his ruptured spleen. For his pain and suffering, the now-23-year-old Martin was given about R720 000. And now there’s none of that left. 

What did he spend it on? Video game consoles, iPod music players, clothes (he admits that in 2019, “I spent R27 000 at one shop in one day”), cars and girls. “Girls had no time for me when I was poor. So, I started walking around with R20 000 in each pocket and my pants had four pockets – that’s R80 000 on my person,” says Martin sheepishly.

Season 3 episode 1: Bodyguards, trucks and parties

Mpho, aka Magiva, lost sight in his right eye when a teacher hit him in the face for answering a question – correctly – but too quickly. He was just seven years old. Years later, having qualified as a mining engineer and planner, he was involved in an accident shortly before getting on a plane to go work in Australia.

On the way to hospital, his ambulance was involved in a fatal crash and Mpho broke ribs and suffered more facial trauma that left him totally blind. After years of struggling to do even the most basic tasks – and admitting that he’d given up – Mpho was awarded R1.5 million from the Road Accident Fund. “But they actually paid me R2.9 million,” he says with a laugh now, even knowing full well what he did with the cash

His brother isn’t amused, though. “He got bodyguards. He hired bodyguards and I couldn’t even access him.” His niece Tshwarelo doesn’t mince her words either. “Cars. He bought cars. They came back with two cars, hooting as they drove in.”

Magiva likes to give – even to people he doesn’t know. “There’s always a nice vibe around me, women screaming, flutes, and it’s a nice vibe.” He also spent R815 000 on a truck and had a fleet of 15 cars once. He’d blow R5 000 on groceries after sending people into the shop to load their trolleys, then Magiva would swipe and put in his pin. And he’s party mad too: “No one left my house without eating, drinking and smoking.”

Until the parties stopped and Mpho discovered that no money equals more problems.

Season 4 episode 2: WWE wrestling belts and a home studio

Eight months is all it took “Mr CEO” Ronald to blow R3 million. His friends describe him as “kind and caring”, but you can hear in their voices they’re really saying, “too kind and too believing to people who’ll use and abuse him”.

He was involved in an accident on the way to Polokwane to bury their grandfather – the family car was hit by two cars, from the front and back – which killed his dad, left his younger brother incapacitated and needing a 24/7 caregiver, and Ronald was paralysed from the waist down.

“It took them a month to tell me that I’d never walk again,” says the young man. “I was depressed and often asked why I didn’t die.” His mom later committed suicide, drowning in her bathtub while supposedly drunk. “It’s an image (seeing my mom with her skin peeling off in the bath) that I will never forget.”

And it’s been a downward struggle for Ronald ever since, which is a terrible thing when it’s combined with a massive pay-out from the Road Accident Fund.

What did Ronald spend his bucks on? Four original WWE wrestling champion belts at R54 000 each. R30 000 clothing spending sprees. R8 000 “gifts” to friends. “He gave me money in the club and told me to tear the notes up,” says one guy. He’s also bought tonnes of computers – R80 000’s worth – for a home studio in a separate apartment that he rented.

And then there were the insatiable hangers-on. “We’d have loads of girls. R12 000 on a single bottle of booze. We made vibes. We don’t need to spend R500 to make one track in the studio when you have your own studio,” says Ronald, who spent R30 000 on Chanel designer fragrances every month. Now there’s no cash, no friends, no fragrances and no money even for rent.