Nirvana Nokwe-Mseleku Accuses Bonko Khoza of Sexual Misconduct, Khoza Denies Allegation
Actress and creative star Nirvana Nokwe-Mseleku came out over the weekend with the confession of suffering sexual misconduct at the hands of award-winning actor and co-star Bonko Khoza. The incident in question, according to Nokwe-Mseleku, took place during a shoot for the Showmax Original Red Ink.
In the show, Nirvana portrayed Busi, while Bonko played Sipho, also known as Napoleon. The shoot on the 10th of September 2023 for Episode 1 was meant to depict a rape-murder scene in which Sipho perpetrated the act towards Busi. Both Nokwe-Mseleku and the letter from the lawyers of Bonko Khoza, which can be found inside Nirvana’s Google Drive evidence folder with relevant paper trail, state that before the shooting of the intense scene, physical boundaries had been established between her and Khoza, with a potential stunt double on standby.
Nirvana Nokwe-Mseleku | SUPPLIED
Although the boundaries were agreed upon between both actors, Nirvana, in a 2024 write-up detailing a then-unnamed sexual misconduct incident on set, spoke about how the alleged violation happened.
“It is unfortunate that my co-star violated physically [SIC] boundaries, emotional as well as psychological too. We shot many variations of the scene. And during my close-up, in the most vulnerable and compromised position, after my co-star came out of the frame and he took it upon himself to thrust his pelvis into mine,” she said.
According to Nokwe-Mseleku, she had informed Khoza that her pelvis was one of her body parts she was uncomfortable with being touched.
As per the paper trail on the Drive folder, Nokwe-Mseleku’s agent Carolynn de Waal-Smit wrote to Bomb Production concerning the matter, appealing to the company to pay for Nokwe-Mseleku’s therapy sessions while also facilitating the process of getting Bonko Khoza to issue a formal written apology.
Bonko Khoza | SUPPLIED
The apology never materialised.
While Nokwe-Mseleku claimed that Bonko admitted to her that he “got carried away”, Bonko, according to the letter of his lawyers, vehemently denies that he sexually violated Nirvana, stating that “Bonko did not sexually assault Nirvana, nor was there a sex crime perpetrated on set on 10 September 2023”, while labelling the accusations as “defamatory”.
Bonko Khoza released a statement on the evening of the 18th of May 2026, stating his position and denying the claims levelled against him.
“I believe the allegations raised by Ms Nokwe-Mseleku are serious and must always be treated with the serious nature they deserve, not only for Ms Nokwe-Mseleku’s sake but for victims of sexual assault in and out of the film and TV industry. I stand by victims of sexual assault; however, [I] deny that I sexually assaulted, thrusted upon or committed any misconduct in respect of Ms Nokwe-Mseleku and the production,” he said in the statement.
Khoza not only denied the allegations; he even stated that members who were on set witnessed the same incident and saw nothing wrong to flag.
“On the night in question, more than 12 crew members were present on set, including the director, script supervisor, lighting technician, stunt coordinator, producer, sound and camera teams. At no point did any of these professionals observe or report any behaviour resembling the allegations now being made,” he said.
Bonko Khoza | SUPPLIED
Bonko also said that a meeting with relevant stakeholders and Nokwe-Mseleku had been held on the 30th of November 2023, at which the consensus was that no sexual misconduct had taken place in connection with the alleged violation.
“In this regard, on 30 November 2023, representatives from Red Ink Productions, MNET, SWIFT, senior crew members, and both mine and Ms Nokwe-Mseleku’s respective agents viewed the unedited material. All parties confirmed that no thrusting, sexual misconduct, or criminal behaviour had occurred. The footage simply did not support the allegation,” he said.