Ambitions collide in ‘Ompata’ season 5

THE ‘Ompata’ gang is back for another exciting round of drugs, drama and impending doom with its fifth season dropping on YouTube last month.

It has just five episodes, and, with the action picking up right where the 2022 film of the same name left off, the web series has returned in a major way.

From tonnes of new faces and intense and well-choreographed fighting scenes, to biker gangs and extrajudicial killings, this show is a wild ride from start to finish, and you won’t want to switch the screen off for even a second.

The series still follows gangster Sex Champion and his cohorts as they navigate their complex existence in Windhoek and their place as drug runners, but this time around a new wrench has been thrown in the works – klappers. This new and lucrative drug has been introduced to the market, and as every ambitious black market dealer scrambles to get in on the boom in demand – our characters battle personal challenges that push them to their limits.

Watching this, the first thing that is obvious and clear is the leap in sound and video quality from other iterations of the series.

For a show initially shot on a couple of iPhones, it is lovely to see the near crisp cinematography and directing, and also in the development of the story, in part thanks to writing and directing from the diverse crew, which includes Kim Hamunghete. There is also much to be said about the carefully curated soundtrack, which solely employs local music, one track really grabbing my attention being the classic ‘We Go Hard’ by KK featuring Desmond (formerly Lil D).

The storyline itself is simple, but it is well executed. A new drug has entered the market, and we get to see the vantage points of the many stakeholders that are carefully monitoring its movements and invested in its trajectory.

From the ladies cooking the substance up in a regular home kitchen, the big boss at the top of the distribution chain keeping foot soldiers in check, to the cops who have noticed the influx on the streets, and other crime lords who want in on the action.

Everyone is looking out for themselves in this convoluted web of money and deceit, and it is a dangerous game that they are playing.

Aside from the core cast that includes Ompata brainchild Roger ‘Nino Pequeno’ Rafael, leads Basie Mswenko, Dorian Mario, Carlos Knowledge and Faustino Paulus, some notable additions to include rapper Skrypt, former Miss Namibia Chelsi Shikongo, musician and actress Khadijah Mouton, model Woudre Tune and comedian Aloys Murorua in supporting roles who help round out the story and provide more layers and depth.

As with the show since its inception in 2020, the theme of justice is prominent in this new batch of content and – to a degree – vengeance.

What is brilliant about the writing and production of this wholly Namibian show is it gives the viewer an insight into this world and the often unseen underbelly of the culture that surrounds it, where everyone wants a cut and are all willing to take a risk.

Yes, it is a dramatised depiction of the struggles and fears of living this life, but it still highlights and explores important societal themes around loyalty, fearlessness, greed, animosity and power.

With each set of characters having their own motivations, limitations and lengths to which they will go to achieve their goals, this is surely a deadly convergence of paths that is bound to leave the audience in shock and awe, no matter who they are rooting for.

This set of episodes has really set up the show to give us something big and spectacular whenever it returns. I know I’m not the only one who wants to know if Blommie will be okay, if Sex Champion will ever feel at peace again or if Doggbulls will be captured.

For that and more, we will all have to watch this space.

• Anne Hambuda is a Cape Town-based writer, poet and social commentator. For more, email her annehambuda@gmail.com

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