But in the years since her introduction, has grown by leaps and bounds.

From the initially rebellious character who was known to make rash and disastrous decisions, to a character which embraced her growth to eventually become a fan-favourite character on the soapie. As such, it was a tearful goodbye as Makhanya bid farewell to her beloved character of Lindiwe.

In the shared statement ahead of her exit, e.tv had shared a promotional statement that shared details on her exit by stating that:

Mvelo Makhanya On Leaving Scandal's Lindiwe

“Her beautiful marriage with Nhlamulo was a perfect example of how young couples take on the hardships in South Africa and get through it day by day, emerging stronger together.

Being a strong black woman, Lindiwe decided that she would fight her chronic disease and see through the birth of her baby, Larona. On the 10th of November, we witnessed Lindiwe’s last breath as she left whilst holding her mother’s hand. Now, Nhlamulo is left alone with his family to take care of his newborn daughter Larona.”

Her farewell was touching as it saw the return of Mlungisi Ngema, played by Patrick Mofokeng, returned to bid farewell to his onscreen daughter. But the most touching were the final moments between Lindiwe and her mother, Gcina Nkosi as Zinzile Nkosi, bid her daughter goodbye and honouring her for being the best mother in the world for her ultimate sacrifice.

Mvelo Makhanya on leaving Scandal's Lindiwe:

Given that Nomvelo Makhanya as Lindiwe had seemed to be one of the fan-favourite characters who seemed would have a permanent role on the soapie, it came as a surprise that she would exit the soapie indefinitely. As such, the biggest question following her heart-wrenching and tear-jerking exit was what made her make the decision to leave the soapie?

Unlike some recent exits, The River’s Lawrence Maleka and his mysterious departure, Makhanya did not make the question remain the elephant in the room. This might be due to the fact that at the time, it was suggested that her reasons for leaving the role was her relationship with stylist and influencer Simiso Ngwenya and his alleged jealousy over her kissing her male co-stars.

Therefore, following her formal exit from the soapie, she took to Twitter to address her reasons for bidding farewell to her beloved role. Ih her tweet addressing her departure Makhanya wrote that:

“I want more of that. I want to ACT! I’m too talented for me to be selfish with my craft. I want to share my talent & craft with you guys.”

Makhanya’s sentiments came off the back of the defence from actress Masasa Mbangeni who played Thembeka on Scandal, who also in 2021 delivered her own heart-felt final goodbye to her beloved villainous character.

Mbangeni also faced some seclusion following the end of her own relationship with Tshedza Pictures’ Gwydion Beynon earlier this year.