Taking aim
Is Ayanda going to end up murdering his own father?
Uzalo
Mon-Wed SABC1 20:30
After Lindiwe and Muzi (Dawn Thandeka King and Mpumelelo Bhulose) finally told Mxolisi (Naymaps Maphalala) that he isn’t a Xulu on Wednesday 27 January, there was one more thing they had to do: claim their biological son Ayanda (Kay Sibiya). But Muzi only just managed to stop his hitman from killing Ayanda on Monday 25 January after he found out the truth. And the Mdletshes freaked out on Tuesday 26 January when the Xulus originally called them to arrange a meeting, convinced (and not without reason) that it was a trap to allow the Xulus to wipe them out. What else can go wrong before the final part of the baby-swap truth comes out? As Ayanda holds his father at gunpoint on Wednesday 3 February, it looks like that question could have the worst possible answer: death!
MUZI MUST FALL
“Towards the finale, Muzi starts wanting to meet up with Ayanda and his mom, so a CPF member gives Ayanda a gun in case they try anything funny,” reveals Kay, who adds that it’s the first gun that Ayanda has ever held. “Ayanda is conflicted. On Monday 11 January, Muzi and Mxolisi beat him to a pulp. They almost beat him dead! He’s tired of Muzi just getting away with murder – literally. He gets away with drugs, with the car syndicate, with killing people, and no one is standing up to him. Ayanda;s had it because Muzi has affected a lot of people that he’s close to: Muzi strangled his brother Nkosinathi (Sipho Mhlongo, in June 2015) and put him in a wheelchair. And then it was his wife Nombuso’s death (Thandeka Zulu, in November 2015). Then there was Amandla’s death (Lungelo Mandondo, in December 2015). He’s tired of the whole Xulu family and their wicked ways.”
THE MOMENT OF TRUTH
And with all of those feelings crowding in on a conflicted Ayanda, Mxolisi and Muzi burst into his church, chased by an angry mob. It’s the last straw and Ayanda prepares to shoot, still unaware that Muzi is his father. That’s when Muzi tells him the truth. “It’s a dark moment,” says Kay. “The man he hates more than anyone in the world tells him that he is his biological father and his mother (Leleti Khumalo) is standing there and she agrees to what’s been said. He’s not thinking at that moment – he’s not even aware of what he’s doing. Ayanda’s whole world has crumbled. Everything he’s ever believed, everything he’s ever known, is a lie.”
KEEPING SECRETS
Kay’s not surprised that the revelation makes Ayanda even more unstable. “Personally, I would feel betrayed because my parents and I have that bond that’s unbreakable, so transparency is everything,” says Kay. “Blood does not determine. It does not decide who my parents are and their place in my life. The parents who raised me played a role biological parents had never ever played. So if my parents didn’t tell me the truth, I would feel betrayed.” But there’s still one secret hanging over Ayanda. On Tuesday 2 February, Ayanda’s biological sister Nosipho (Nompilo Maphumulo) revealed that thanks to a hook-up, she’s pregnant with Ayanda’s child. Reveals Kay, “It’s disgusting, especially for a black household and two black dynasty families like this. I don’t know. It’s beyond disgusting. It’s unheard of,” he stutters, apparently still shocked by the unfolding storyline.
BUT WILL HE SHOOT?
Uzalo’s first season ends on a life- ordeath cliffhanger as the police burst in to arrest Mxolisi and Muzi, while Ayanda’s finger is still on the trigger. What would it do to would-be pastor Ayanda’s soul if he shoots his own father in cold blood, inside his very church and place of worship?