The Kardashians may have serious competition: when it comes to non-stop family drama, the Ranaka sisters can give Kim, Khloé, Kourtney and the rest a real run for their money.
The Ranakas have become South Africa’s must-watch weekly reality-TV family, with audiences unable to get enough. Their home life is rarely anything less than captivating, and Manaka, 39, Mpumi, 37, and Dineo, 35, make it clear during a visit to the office that the personalities seen on television are genuine.
Energetic, petite Dineo is the first to arrive. Warm-hearted Mpumi follows soon afterwards, and the pair initially get along so smoothly that it would be easy to assume their televised clashes are planned. They insist the conflict is real as Dineo opens a bottle of sparkling wine “to unwind.” Manaka is the last sister to arrive.
More laid-back than her younger siblings, Manaka heads outside to eat lunch while the other two prepare for the photo shoot. Dineo gestures toward her and says, “She is so calm. She is not wild like Mpumi and me. Just look at her quietly enjoying her food.”
Dineo says she and Mpumi have accepted that, while they care deeply for one another, neither would call the other her favourite person.
That could eventually shift, but they are currently making peace with the dynamic. “Manaka and I are like a long-distance couple because we barely see each other, while Mpumi and I are a love-hate relationship,” Dineo says.
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“It is true that Dineo and I struggle to get along, although we are working on it,” Mpumi adds. “Our conflict puts a great deal of strain on the family.” She thinks their similarities are at the heart of it.
“Our lifestyles, preferences and decisions are much alike. We are both outspoken, both quick to anger, both hardworking, and we are aiming for similar things. That is why we collide.”
After lunch, Manaka says she has learned to take on the role of peacemaker, although she acknowledges that “being the oldest carries responsibility, and it can feel heavy.” She explains that firstborn children are expected to care for younger siblings and set the example, which brings enormous pressure. Still, she says, family obligations have to be honoured.
Mpumi is an author, homemaker, motivational speaker and co-owner of the Lalala bedding business. She is mother to 25-year-old Lwazi, 18-year-old Thando and Lerato, 11. Her family would also have included twins Laila and Lucah, but tragedy struck when she was six months pregnant.
She suffered complications and lost the twins, but marks the birthday they would have had every year. Mpumi says she believes they are watching over her and that their memory inspires her. Though she is viewed as the least well-known of the Ranaka sisters, she has longstanding experience in entertainment.
During the 1990s, she sang backing vocals for several acts and toured alongside Brenda Fassie and King Rap, before he became known as Joe Nina. However, she exited public life at a young age. “I began in entertainment when I was very young and witnessed traumatic things while touring. There was drinking, partying and cheating. It made me dislike celebrity,” she says.
“I agreed to join The Ranakas only because I wanted to honour my father’s legacy, Ntate Ranaka. During apartheid, our father worked as a journalist and photographer. He launched many publications, but people called him a sell-out and he was mistreated.
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“His passion was taken from him while he was still doing what he loved. I want to restore his legacy and show people some of the work he created. His contribution to the media world should not be overlooked. My father had an important role during apartheid, and I want his work to be featured on the programme.”
Without her mission to bring her father’s achievements to light, Mpumi says she would have chosen a private existence and handled her struggles away from public view. In the newest season, she told her relatives that a neighbour sexually abused her on two occasions. “I am pleased that I spoke about it on television,” she says. “I want to support others who have survived the same thing.”
Dineo says she is not “overly focused on fame,” although she values the affection she receives from supporters. The outspoken mother of Kgosi, 8, and Kopano, 5, says she entered radio and television because she wanted to understand how the entertainment industry works.
“I did not decide to do reality television because I wanted fame; I desperately wanted an education.” She says South Africa’s traditional schooling system did not suit the way her mind works. “I am rebellious and business-minded. I was not built to sit in a classroom because my mind is practical and needs to be out in the field.”
Dineo believes viewers sometimes misread the person they see on The Ranakas. “God created me as an extrovert, someone loud with strong opinions, and I have learned to turn my personality into an income,” she says.
It took her a while to understand herself, embrace her traits and develop self-love. “I had to make myself stand in front of the mirror and ask who I was. I told myself, ‘Dineo, remain true to yourself.’ At times I am vulgar, and at other times I am elegant. I wear sheepskin at the Durban July because I am an individual and do not require anyone’s approval.
“Self-love is what drives me.” Dineo says she learned that lesson from her father and her mother, Mma Siba, whose loving example has made them almost as popular as their daughters since the series launched. “Our parents showed us how to love. Their love for each other is unconditional, and I carry that forward to my own children.”
Dineo feels she may have been damaged herself had she grown up in a fractured household. A few years ago, she says, she found a sense of balance.
“I fast and pray to protect my sanity. When people watch me voice opinions, yell or shout, they assume I have returned to my supposed old behaviour. I used to be portrayed as irrational, loud, desperate to be heard and always looking for an argument. But that was the younger Dineo. I am grounded now and completely confident about who I am. Yes, I am loud, and yes, I want to be heard, but I no longer need anybody’s validation.”
She says fasting and prayer help her become a better mother, not someone trying to present herself as perfect. The Metro FM presenter and motivational speaker says she is mentally in a good place. “I have reached a point where I am not pressured to please people or live by their rules.”
Dineo confirms she is dating someone, though she is not ready to reveal his identity. She says the affection and friendship she receives from her partner have amazed her. “I am in awe of the father and friend that he is. Together, we create magic.”
Manaka was the first Ranaka sibling to enter show business. Her television debut came through the 1990s music group Dalom Kids, appearing as a video vixen. She later secured a part on the SABC3 soap opera Isidingo.
She says acting is her true passion and that she pursues it because “I want to share stories and entertain audiences. I did not enter acting for recognition or trophies.” She also says she remains authentic, including when filming The Ranakas.
“I cannot be fake or betray myself in any circumstance. I have never been in a position where I could not speak openly about a subject.” She credits spirituality with helping her stay centred.
“Among my family members, I was always the person speaking about Africanism.” At 17, she says, she rebelled against the church and became a Rastafarian. “I was constantly searching for something spiritual.” That search became a major topic in a recent episode of The Ranakas, when a healer told Manaka she might have a spiritual calling.
The elder tied pieces of wool together, prayed over them, and Manaka now wears the item around her neck. “Some people put it around the waist, but mine is on my neck. It is not meant as protection or anything sinister. For me, it is a private reminder that prayer matters. I wear it around my neck instead of my waist because I do not need to conceal it,” she says.
She remains uncertain about whether she has a calling. “But I am exploring it.” Over recent years, she has been told she may possess a gift that requires certain rituals.
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“If it turns out to be a sangoma calling, I will accept it gladly. I am not embarrassed by where I come from,” she says. Still, she does not want to put herself under pressure. “If I must wear beads and kangas, I will accept that too.”
Manaka says she is continuing a journey of self-discovery. Last year, her closest friend, celebrity makeup artist Iko Mash, died after battling cancer. “He passed away in my arms, and afterwards I underwent a cleansing ceremony. Yet there was another cleansing that had to happen, so I sought guidance from someone,” she says.
“I received more than I expected there. I cannot say much more, but I am on a spiritual path.” That path also includes dedicating herself to raising healthy, happy children and furthering her acting work.
When it comes to romance, Manaka says she is open to love but is currently unattached. Her children and family remain her priority. She describes herself and Dineo as youthful, playful and fun, while Mpumi is more serious because “she had to become grown-up quickly.”
Manaka, mother to Kagiso, 19, and Lesedi, 10, says she wants her children to experience a different upbringing after spending her own childhood carrying responsibility for younger siblings. “None of my firstborn children will ever be responsible for someone else’s life; she will only be responsible for her own.”
Even so, she says her early life made her “stronger than I appear.” “That is how I was brought up. If I had not been strong, my siblings would have fallen apart.” Judging by The Ranakas, there is very little falling apart happening now.
