[11:45] Mmakobo Mokgopo
The Watermelon case is closed:Detective panel caught Devi Sankaree Govender in the act on The Masked Singer South Africa
South Africans know there’s no place to hide when award-winning investigative journalist Devi Sankaree Govender knocks on your door. For many years the pint-sized bulldog also kept television viewers on the edge of their seats, going undercover to expose what you have the right to see.
But who would have thought that Devi would one day find a hiding place in a Watermelon costume, trying to evade a group of nosy detectives? Devi is the latest celebrity unmasked on the fun-filled mystery singing contest The Masked Singer South Africa.
Initially, Devi’s sweet Watermelon case was a tough one to solve. But following her third act on stage, three of the four detectives nailed it.
After the first two rounds of the competition, during which six big-name stars lost the popularity vote, Devi made it to the final ten aiming to keep their identity a secret.
However, The Masked Singer South Africa reached a whole new level this week. Instead of the previous face-offs and head-to-heads, the game elevated to the phase where it is every Mask for themselves.
So, five of the costumed characters returned this week, while the other five will fight it out in the following episode. The Mask with the fewest votes in each group of five must show their face.
Devi’s Watermelon competed against Sunflower, Tree, Elephant and Rhino.
Watermelon pulled out all the stops becoming a “Dancing Queen” with the classic Abba song. Detectives J’Something, Somizi Mhlongo, Sithelo Shozi and Skhumba Hlophe noted her every move and scrutinised the hints in her new crazy clue package.
The clue package disclosed that Watermelon’s history involved some crime scenes, and she wanted to be a lawyer. She also showed a photograph of Lionel Richie and noted, “My eldest seedling is where Michael Jordan spends many nights.”
Somizi immediately ascertained that Watermelon was his age or slightly younger as Abba was all the rage in the 1970s, meaning she had to be in her 40s at least. Skhumba interpreted the song entirely differently. In his mind, Watermelon could only be former Miss South Africa Kerishnie Naicker. Skhumba recalled how “Dancing Queen” played when Kerishnie was crowned.
For the first time, each masked celebrity had to choose a physical item to assist the detective panel in completing the puzzle. Watermelon revealed a Miss South Africa sash, confirming Skhumba’s assumption. However, J’Something alerted Skhumba that Watermelon explained the item by saying, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
At this stage, J’Something thought Lerato Mbele could be Watermelon because she’s a news anchor with international connections. Somizi named Devi, while Sithelo pointed to journalist Iman Rappetti.
Once the votes were in, Watermelon seemed to be deflated by her fate.
As usual, the sleuths could lock in their final guesses, starting with J’Something. When he met Watermelon for the first time at the beginning of the series, he believed it was chef Kamini Pather, and this week he went with Lerato. Still, one week he was convinced it was someone who was a guest judge on his other television gig My Kitchen Rules, namely Devi.
Somizi agreed with J’Something, and Sithelo noted that she also predicted Devi during a former episode. Yet, Skhumba held onto “that sash thing” and Kerishnie Naicker.
Except for Skhumba, the panel finally solved a mystery together when Devi
emerged from the costume. Someone else who was utterly shocked was the show’s host Mpho Popps. He was on Devi’s TV show a while ago, raving about his role on The Masked Singer, and Devi’s lips were zipped about her involvement.
Devi expressed that The Masked Singer South Africa was a fantastic experience: “The whole reason I wanted to do it is that many people look at me on my show and think, ‘Yas, that chick, she’s hectic, and she’s heavy’. The Masked Singer shows that we all have so many different sides to our personalities.”
Yet, something bothered her. Why did the tiniest person have the biggest and heaviest mask? On Skhumba’s suggestion, Devi will return to investigate the matter.
Devi explained that the sash fooling Skhumba related to being a judge on Miss SA last year. And the Michael Jordan clue? Her daughter is a golfer who studies at the University of North Carolina.
The Masked Singer South Africa is screened on SABC3 on Saturdays at 18:30 and SABC 1 at 20:00, with a repeat on SABC 1 on Thursdays at 21:00. Join the guessing game on Twitter: #MaskedSingerSA.
