The drug trap
Mxolisi’s life is on the line thanks to Zekhethelo’s addiction.
Uzalo Weekdays SABC1 (*191) 20:30
Mxolisi (Nay Maps Maphalala) and Zekhethelo (Nyalleng Thibedi) used to be so in love, but as her drug addiction has sent her spiralling, love has twisted into emotional exploitation and blackmail. Zekhe even went on hunger strike in rehab on Friday 24 August in an attempt to convince Mxolisi to give her one last line of cocaine. When Mxolisi caves in though, the dose almost proves fatal on Wednesday 29 August and Zekhethelo lands in hospital again. “Mxolisi has started seeing what’s happening by Zekhe’s changing behaviour, which he doesn’t approve of,” explains Nay. “It’s made him really unhappy. He feels like it’s his fault and it was his responsibility to have salvaged the situation.” But it’s one thing for Mxolisi to think that and quite another for both Zekhethelo and her father Nkunzi (Masoja Msiza) to put all the blame on him too.
MXOLISI IN THE MIDDLE
On Monday 13 August, Zekhe directly blamed Mxolisi for landing her in the drug world under the thumb of a creepy pimp like Amos (Ernest Msibi). “It hurt! Mxolisi already hates Amos, knowing the history that Amos had with his family. And to see the person that he loves becoming an addict really hurts him a lot,” says Nay. But he still can’t see a way out. “Mxolisi honestly believes that he could get rid of Amos but he doesn’t want to get caught on the wrong side of the law again,” says the actor. “He really did want to get Nkunzi involved earlier but Zekhethelo begged him not to tell. And since he works with Nkunzi, Nkunzi would be very quick to say, ‘Why didn’t you play a part as a man to protect her from Amos?’ So it’s rather complex.”
FATHER vs LOVER
As Mxolisi fears, there will be hell to pay when Nkunzi wakes up to what has been happening in his daughter’s life behind his back on Thursday 6 September and confronts Mxolisi and the drug dealers on Tuesday 11 September. Mxolisi’s only option will be to fight dirty. “He brings up the fact that if Nkunzi himself had been playing his role to Zekhethelo as a father better, she wouldn’t have been in this situation. So it’s a low blow,” says Nay. There is one glimmer of hope though. When Zekhethelo finds out how Nkunzi has punished Mxolisi, “It hurts her so much that it causes her to really want to change her life,” reveals Nay.