Manaka Ranaka Recalls the Night Before Daughter Katlego’s Death in 2025

• Manaka Ranaka opened up about losing her 24-year-old daughter, Katlego, during an appearance on the Relebogile Mabotja Podcast
• The Generations actress described the eerie morning she received a call from the hospital while still filming on set
• Manaka revealed she prayed out loud the night before Katlego's passing, saying words she had never spoken aloud before

More than a year after losing her daughter, Generations actress Manaka Ranaka has broken her silence on the deeply personal moments surrounding Katlego's passing. Speaking on the Relebogile Mabotja Podcast on 9 October 2026, she shared what those final hours looked and felt like as a mother.

Katlego, who was 24 years old and herself a mother, passed away in hospital in January 2025. Manaka described the night before as one unlike any other, recalling a moment of private prayer after returning from a hospital visit.

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"I don't normally pray out loud; I have my silent prayers. That night I prayed out loud, and I spoke to God, and I made all the promises that any mother would make," she said.

She continued: "You know, 'I'll be a better mom if I'm a bad mom,' 'I'll tweak where I have to tweak,' but I remember saying 'Your will.'"

A "weird" morning on set

Manaka described the day of Katlego's passing as unsettling from the start. The hospital called at around 10 am, asking the family to come in urgently. Still on set with one more scene to film, Manaka phoned her mother and asked her to go in her place. She noted that already, in her spirit, something felt off.

Making the scene even harder was the presence of a new actor she was working with. The weight of what was unfolding at the hospital left her unable to give her best performance. Once they wrapped, she reached for her phone.

"As I got [to] my dressing room, I saw a missed call from a few minutes ago. So I call her, and then she tells me," Manaka recalled.

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Letting it all out

After leaving the set and washing her face as she normally would, the reality of what had happened hit her fully. It was in that quiet, routine moment that she let herself fall apart.

Reflecting on the grief more than a year on, Manaka was candid about just how heavy the weight of losing a child remains.

"It's not an easy thing to talk about," she said, making clear that time has not dulled the pain.

Watch Manaka Ranaka's interview below.

Manaka Ranaka cuts ties with her family

In an earlier report, Briefly News shared insight into Manaka Ranaka's revelations, in which she claimed to have cut ties with her family.

Despite years of appearing as a solid unit on television, Manaka dropped a bombshell that hinted at fractured relationships.

Source: Briefly News