Suspended SABC Executive’s Alleged Link to Terry Pheto Raises Eyebrows Amid R19m ‘Pimville’ Scandal

• On Friday, 15 May 2026, renowned actress Terry Pheto's friendship with Lala Tuku was scrutinised on X
• This came after SABC executives, including Tuku, were suspended over non-payment issues affecting SABC2 telenovela, Pimville
• Social media reacts strongly to allegations linking Pheto and Tuku in corruption discussions

The alleged relationship between suspended SABC Head of Content Lala Tuku and embattled actress Terry Pheto is under scrutiny. This comes after Tuku and other SABC executives were suspended over Bakwena Productions' Pimville non-payment scandal.

Pimville actors downed tools after Bakwena Productions failed to pay salaries, leading to a production being halted. After SABC suspended Lala Tuku and other executives over the scandal, reports emerged that the public broadcaster paid Bakwena Productions R19 million to produce episodes of Pimville, which SABC2 is struggling to get from the company.

Terry Pheto dragged into R19 million 'Pimville' scandal

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Sizwe Dhlomo and Loyiso MacDonald react to SABC executives' suspension amid 'Pimville' salary drama

As South Africans reacted to Lala Tuku’s suspension on X (Twitter), user @Burnerburnerac5 kicked off a discussion about her alleged relationship with Terry Pheto, who was recently linked to another multi-million-rand looting scandal. In a post shared on Friday, 15 May 2026, the social media user also alleged that before joining the SABC, Tuku worked at another production company that was accused of non-payment by its cast and crew. The post was captioned:

“Lala Tuku worked at Clive Morris, who is already known for not paying actors, for about 5 years, and that's when their "financial distress" claims started, resulting in actors not being paid. She is also besties with Terry Pheto, who is under SIU investigation.”

See the post below:

SA reacts to Terry Pheto's alleged friendship with Lala Tuku

In the comments, social media users reacted to Tuku and Pheto’s alleged relationship with some resharing veteran actress Rami Chuene’s comments on the Pimville scandal, which read:

“Unfortunately, “channels” are just people. When they say the channel has blacklisted you, they mean Mr or Ms So-and-so. Anyway, I digress🤭. But these are people who run an entity into the ground, get suspended and eventually fired- given a golden handshake to stay low for a while. Two years later, they emerge as head of marketing or something at another channel. They then steal some more, get suspended again…the cycle repeats over and over like SABC ya ma-repeat. No accountability whatsoever.”

Read also

'Pimville' drama escalates: Lala Tuku's daughter’s luxury life sparks outrage

See the post below:

Here are some of the comments:

@sbuhlanguza said:

“Please, leave Terry out of it, she's hot 😭”

@melelo_x alleged:

“Corrupt to the core!”

Suspended SABC executive's daughter’s luxury life sparks outrage

Meanwhile, Briefly News reported that Lala Tuku's daughter was caught up in the crossfire of her mom's scandal after the seasoned actress and TV producer was suspended from her job.

Lala Tuku's daughter has been caught up in the crossfire of her mom's scandal after the seasoned actress and TV producer was suspended from her job.

Source: Briefly News