With four votes against her name and an unused Idol in her pocket, Mmaba Molefe (28) from Plumstead in Cape Town, became the fourteenth person to be voted off Survivor SA: Island of Secrets and the sixth member of the Jury who will pick the winner of the show at the end of the season.
Mmaba nabbed the Idol from the voting urn at Tribal Council, after winning a clue to the advantage on the Island of Secrets. Unfortunately for her, she trusted her alliance and not her instincts and decided not to play her Idol. The target was placed on her back by Steffi, who revealed to the Tribe that she has an advantage in the game that makes her dangerous to keep around.
Fans will remember Mmaba for her iconic giggly smile and soft-nature. She played a great social game alongside her bestie, Geoff but never rose up to the occasion to make her own moves and establish her individual game. She has been one of the lucky castaways to win the special spa-treatment Reward with Geoff and Danté as well as the Samoan Cultural experience that Danté selected her to join in on.
How the episode played out:
Bold moves:
Back at camp following the previous weeks Tribal Council, the tension was thick in the air after Jacques offended the entire Tribe, leaving him out in the cold once again.
With all the attention cast on Jacques, Mike used the opportunity to plot another blindside and approached Durāo to take Rob down, entirely unaware that Durāo’s loyalty lied firmly with Rob. With the knowledge that Mike wants to blindside Rob – but needing his vote – Rob bluffs Mike by telling him he’ll use an advantage he doesn’t actually have, forcing Mike to “cancel”.
And in another power play by Rob, he offers Durāo his Idol, as a show of trust, to which Durāo declined. For the second Tribal Council in a row, Jacques makes a bold Immunity Idol move by playing it before any votes were cast in a bid to shake things up within the Tribe. Being in the minority, he is still fighting and appealed to the castaways who were told to vote for him, to vote for Rob instead – which fell on deaf ears.
The Island of Secrets:
Treemail news that the Tribe could nominate two people to go to the Island of Secrets seemed to be the redemption that Mmaba had been waiting for. Putting herself forward, alongside Steffi, the pair were treated to a delectable spread offering energy, focus and a chance at recovery with Biostrath. But that wasn’t all – Steffi and Mmaba also duelled for an advantage in the game – where Mmaba won a clue to a Hidden Immunity Idol at Tribal Council.
Immunity Challenge:
The race for Immunity was on this week as the castaways raced out into the water to jump into a cage and release a key that would unlock a box to reveal a set of ropes. The castaways then have to shake those ropes to release another key that unlocks the second box leading to a series of knots that need to be untied, to eventually release a bag of puzzle pieces. Those puzzle pieces need to be completed at the final station to construct a 3D puzzle. Nicole was elated to win the honours for the first time since Merge, and the Amigos alliance were just as pleased.
How the Survivors voted:
The Manumalo Tribe stuck to the arrangement of voting off Mmaba, except for alliance members Mike and Mmaba of course, who were under the impression that Jacques remained the target. Rob, Nicole, Steffi, Durāo and Laetitia put Mmaba’s name down while Mike and Mmaba voted for Jacques. Jacques stuck to his guns and wrote Rob’s name down.
Survivor South Africa: Island of Secrets is screened on M-Net every Thursday at 19:00. It will also be available on DStv Catch Up.
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