Dineo Ranaka, one of the most outspoken entertainment personalities we know on and off air or camera.  We chat to the mother of two about her experience in the Big Brother Mzansi house, the Kenny Kunene Roast and her opinion on the Oscar Pistorius Trial.

Many have formulated their own opinion about the Oscar Pistorius Trial.  What’s you’re take on the situation so far, do you think he will be set free or is it still early days?

I don’t think I’m qualified to have an opinion of whether he’s going to walk free or go behind bars.  I have no legal qualifications to make that statement.  But what I can say is that I don’t think Oscar is emotionally stable, I think that Oscar has very deep-rooted scars from childhood that he has internalised that he needs psychological help for. 

I also think that he carried the burden of the death of his mother even more and from where I stand he hasn’t really accepted the fact that he is a man without legs, people actually think that I’m joking when I’m saying this but I’m actually serious I don’t think he’s really dealt with it because he fought a huge fight to compete against able-bodied beings and he’s not. For the mere fact that he sees himself in that light, for me there’s a bit of a dysfunction there.  And if anything, from this entire trial I feel as though this could be a great opportunity for the Pistorius family to look at themselves and figure out what they could’ve done wrong in the upbringing of their son. 

I’m not blaming the family but the fundamental stages of a child’s upbringing also have a lot to do with the child’s physical appearance he has a lot of physical issues to deal with and I hope he finds peace in this whole situation and I also hope society is able to forgive him in the long run.

Tomorrow the S.A.M.A Award nominations are being announced, which artists have you placed your bet on for most nominations?

Honestly speaking I’m not placing my bet on anyone; I haven’t been touched by any South African musicians in the past year.  All the music that I have really enjoyed has not come from South Africa, I can just say that I wish everyone well. I know that all the musicians worked hard but for me there’s no one specifically that I’d say I’m placing my bet on.  I’m hoping that this year will be a different ball game and everyone will up the stakes and bring forth some beautiful music this year.

You’ve had the opportunity of spending the night at the Big Brother Mzansi house.  Although you spent a few hours in there, is there anyone you identified with in the house?

I didn’t get enough time to make those connections with the housemates, I just think that I was so shocked at how emotionally tense everyone is and how they’re so disconnected from their reality.  It’s difficult to relax in there, I stayed awake most of the time, and the only time I was able to sleep was when I actually left the house and got to my place.  It’s just a highly concentrated environment that easily messes with your mind, so it really took me aback because I was also thrown into everybody’s drama, I didn’t have my phone so I couldn’t call my mom to discuss what was bothering me at the end of the day. It was just crazy but exciting at the same time, I don’t think I’d be able to survive for a long time in that house though.

How is motherhood treating you lately?

Motherhood is fabulous but not glamorous.  It’s also amazing because I saw little traces of myself within my children, it’s like a constant reminder of the things I need to do better within myself so that they can become better people too.  They’re like little mirror images of myself which is fantastic and also challenging at the same time but I absolutely love it.  Motherhood is one of the few things in life that I take to bed with me and I hold dearly to comfort, me regardless of what may or may not be going right.  It’s a moment of perception in life, its perfect with all its imperfections.

What’s the one thing your kids have taught you as a mother?
That I’m an impatient listener, my son always tells me these interesting stories but he tends to take the long way around, so I then get impatient because I want to hear the juicy details of the story.  I get to the end of your sentence before you get to it which is not a good thing, I should just chill and listen to people until they finish their point.

We’re glad you actually realise that because in the Big Brother Mzansi house you and Mzamo hardly gave each other time to finish your own sentences..

No, I have nothing to say to Mzamo I think he’s very emotionally immature and intellectually challenged.  He’s got a lot of growing to do, I have nothing positive to say about that boy. I’m a very good judge of character and I judged he’s character, he’s just not on my level at all, from a point of wisdom, from a point of emotional competence he is nowhere close to getting it right. Mzamo has got a long way to go and he’s very manipulative.  I’m sorry I don’t respect people who are like that.

The Kenny Kunene Roast is coming up in the next month, do you guys write your own material or are you assisted by other people?

It’s played by character and it’s played by personality and played by your approach to the roast.  The entire thing is a production, so the production company is very serious about how they create this sort of television, so yes there are people who are put in place but they also do trust and give us leeway to play around with our own content.  But you want such things to be controlled so nobody ends up offended or smacked with a lawsuit, because this is the type of show that can either go well or it could just go very badly because words that are once spoken you can’t take back.

The Roast of Kenny Kunene will take place on the 3rd of April at the Lyric Theatre and air on our television screens on the 28th of April Channel 122.