Local actress to grace Nigerian production

‘MAKERESEMESE LETUKA

MASERU – Local actress ‘Malisema Motelle, has been invited to feature in a Pan African Series Original movie series ‘Tenants’ in Lagos, Nigeria. This follows her 2021 appearance in Season 2 of the local TV drama series ‘Bophelo’. She made her first appearance on Bophelo late last year, the series is aired on Lesotho Television at 1900hrs every Wednesday. A sequel, Bophelo 2 centres around the life of the Mokoena family, whose children fight over their father’s inheritance after he leaves his estate to his second son Tšepo. ‘Malisema plays an emotionless landlord in the drama.

Popularly known as Diva Motelle, the actress is expected to leave the country on March 30, however, the 24-year-old is yet to secure the M10 000 she is short of to make it to Lagos. “I need to raise M10 000 travelling fees so that my trip to Lagos can be a success, thus, I am asking for assistance from anyone reading this article,” she said speaking to Life&Style, adding that her dream is to make it big in the film industry.

‘Malisema is not only an actress, she is also a plus-size model who was one of the first plus-sized models to walk at the Lesotho Fashion Week; and since she joined the modelling industry, more plus-sized models have been featured in various fashion shows in the country. She joined the showbiz industry in 2016, and has since then grown as a model to become a well-recognised MC, a radio and TV presenter, and actress, content creator and a poet.

“In 2016, I started as an MC but then stopped. I think I was giving up due to lack of gigs, but then a friend introduced me to a local comedian, Bofihla ‘Neko, so I was given an opportunity to recite poems at his events,” she said, adding that most people know her as a poet. However, in 2017 she left poetry and focused solely on emceeing and modelling.

Growing up, Motelle revealed that she has always aspired to be a model but was struggling to love her huge body as modelling has always been deemed an industry for people with slim bodies. It was only after she came across Thickleeyonce and Graham’s interviews on television in 2017 that she decided to step up and join the industry – that has since been her dream come true.

The interviews inspired her and actually made her realise that she needs to love herself more first even though that was a hard nut to crack. She has hosted local events such as Miss Tertiary, Face of Lesotho, Miss Limkokwing University, Reggae, Dancehall Festival to mention a few. ‘Malisema has also managed to model outside Lesotho, walking the ramp in Johannesburg, South Africa, with models from the DR Congo, Mozambique, Botswana and other countries.