IN MEMES | ‘The River’ fans left teary after Mabutho’s ‘Robin Hood’ scene

The lines between reality and fiction were blurred for a few minutes as fans watched a passionate Mabutho, aka 'Refilwe's Robin Hood', pour his heart out about how poverty-stricken people resort to crime thanks to no faith in their leadership or government.

Mabutho, who with the help of Khabzela and later Cobreezy has been stealing money only to give it away to the needy in his community, found himself in a tough spot in Tuesday night's episode. The three musketeers set out to rob a bank after seeing ATM bombings were bringing in too little money for the demands of their community.

However, things quickly went south and with police waiting outside to nab them, Mabutho decided to get real with the hostages. After apologising for losing his temper, Mabutho took the hostages into his confidence as he explained the motives for their robbery and why it was necessary that they help one another make it out of the bank alive.

His speech touched the people who listened to him, both in the fictitious bank and on the thousands of couches from which Mzansi watches the much-loved telenovela.

In the story, it also saved the day.

Watch the fiery monologue below:

The contents of Mabutho's monologue resonated with viewers of The River, who couldn't help but feel Mabutho's speech was also meant for the ruling party.

However, the theatrics of it all reminded fans of the Netflix series Money Heist.

Here are some of the reactions to the scene below: