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<div><em>Rosemary's Hitlist</em><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">, the true-crime documentary series about cop-turned-serial-killer Nomia Rosemary Ndlovu, is now streaming on Showmax, with new episodes on Wednesdays. </span></div>
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<div><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Early reviews are glowing. Cape Talk's </span><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Sara-Jayne Makwala King calls the Showmax Original "edge-of-your-seat" and "jaw-dropping", adding, "</span><em>Rosemary's Hitlist</em><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif"> is easily the most gripping crime story since </span><em>Devilsdorp..."</em></div>
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<div><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Ndlovu was sentenced in 2021 to six concurrent life terms for the murders of six members of her family, including her sister and the father of her only living child at the time. They were murdered for killsurance: funeral cover payouts worth over R1.4 million to Ndlovu. </span></div>
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<div><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Ndlovu was also sentenced to an additional 30 years: 10 years each for fraud, incitement to commit murder, and the attempted murder of her mother, Maria Mushwana, her sister Joyce, and Joyce's five children. </span></div>
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<div><em>Rosemary's Hitlist </em><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">is produced by IdeaCandy, the company behind the SAFTA-winning true-crime sensation </span><em>Devilsdorp</em><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">, and directed by Valen'tino Mathibela (the first season of </span><em>The Real Housewives of Durban, Lebo M - Coming Home</em><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">), with SAFTA winner Richard Gregory (</span><em>Steinheist</em><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">) as a consulting director. </span></div>
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<div><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">We caught up with Mathibela to find out more: </span></div>
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<div><strong>Why were you drawn to the case?</strong></div>
<div><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Because it's unbelievable. It's a cop! Killing her family! </span></div>
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<div><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">I wanted to find out why a mother, a daughter and a sister would become a perpetrator while in a position of power to do the opposite and protect her family instead? Money was not enough of a reason.</span></div>
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<div><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Murder alone is already chilling, but this was the destruction of a family by one of their own. </span></div>
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<div><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">And by a cop. Police are seen as protectors, a role similarly expected from mothers or women as nurturers. A cop is a symbol of protection, of safety, of hope. For those that may be suffering or stranded, if you see a police van, you think, 'Maybe I'll get help here.'</span></div>
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<div><strong>How difficult was it to convince the victims to share their stories? </strong></div>
<div><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Very hard! These are people's lives.</span></div>
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<div><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">They have already had their trust betrayed by a loved one. How can they trust a stranger?</span></div>
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<div><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">So we had to find a way to make them trust us by being one of them, by caring for them before we put them on camera. </span></div>
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<div><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Language is key. People want to be heard and heard completely. You don't want a language barrier to rob you of that experience.</span></div>
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<div><strong>Was anyone scared to speak out? </strong></div>
<div><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Yes, even though she was behind bars, people were still afraid. When she was sentenced, she made a threat to one of the witnesses to say, 'I will spend this Christmas in jail but, next year, I will be out. I will be back and you will see.' So people were still afraid, and we had some witnesses who changed their minds daily while we chased a deadline. That is why, with some of the witnesses, we had to hide their identity when we filmed them. </span></div>
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<div><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">At one stage, even I started looking over my shoulder on my way everywhere...</span></div>
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<div><strong>How big a shift was it for you to move from reality TV into true-crime? </strong></div>
<div><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">The shift was massive. The experience was emotionally daunting as all the victims got to relive moments of permanent trauma and we absorbed it all as their form of outlet. These victims come from very poor backgrounds; they don't have money for psychology. So they had not had an outlet and some of them still tell you, 'I can't sleep at night.' And the poverty left behind by the breadwinners is heart-wrenching. But while the story was scary, compassion for the victims made me want to see if we could find answers for them and society at large.</span></div>
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<div><strong>What was the biggest surprise for you in filming this documentary? </strong></div>
<div><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Meeting Rosemary was the biggest surprise. You know, she is charming; she is warm. She is imposing when she walks in; everyone's attention goes to her and then she smiles... </span></div>
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<div><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">I was so intrigued by the psyche of this woman, who was able to blindside so many people. </span></div>
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<div><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">I was also surprised by her ability to distance herself from the responsibility of the crimes and her mastery of alibi.</span></div>
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<div><strong>What did the documentary uncover that wasn't in the original news coverage?</strong></div>
<div><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Without giving the story away, some of the intrigue came from learning how long Rosemary's MO has been at work and how far she was planning to go with it. </span></div>
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<div><strong>If you were going to make a true-crime drama, rather than a documentary, who would you cast as Rosemary? Why? </strong></div>
<div><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Definitely the exceptional Vatiswa Ndara. She is relatable like Rosemary and they share striking features that are similar for believability but her mastery of Xitsonga would be essential. She can learn it.</span></div>
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<div><strong>What are you proud about in the final product? </strong></div>
<div><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">The authenticity of a uniquely South Ah story that allowed subjects to express themselves in their own language, which was previously marginalised. </span></div>
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<div><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">And I was proud that we left the victims feeling seen and heard, even though not everything they expressed will make the cut. They expressed relief to be listened to thoroughly, to have the ability to "</span><em>bhodla" </em><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">[have an outlet after carrying their pain for so long/release/offload]. There is hope for healing to begin.</span></div>
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<div><strong>What did the story make you reflect on personally? </strong></div>
<div><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">I learned how to safeguard myself and loved ones from predators of the new phenomenon of killsurance, which is fast reducing the value of human life in exchange for quick money for those probably trusted the most in families. Motives should be questioned.</span></div>
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<div><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Watch the </span><em>Rosemary's Hitlist</em><span style="color:#000000; font-family:verdana,sans-serif"> trailer: </span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><a href="https://youtu.be/1fE5V-6JN58" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/1fE5V-6JN58</a></span></div>
