Master behind bars
Mastermind is back! And he has an axe to grind with the people who’ve left him to rot in prison.
Uzalo viewers are getting an early Christmas present on Thursday 20 December, having been shocked when Mastermind (Ntokozo “TK” Dlamini) went down in a hail of police bullets on Tuesday 7 August. Thanks to a fan campaign though, he’s far from dead. “People were distraught!” says TK. “They wrote to the production house and the SABC to say, ‘Listen, one of the main people that we’re watching the show for is that guy. We want him to come back.’ We had a whole Twitter campaign running saying Bring Back Mastermind and it was a very beautiful thing to witness because it showed that people support what we do,” he says, adding, “It was also a beautiful thing to have a show that is that big stop and say, ‘You are still part of the team, we still see you as part of the show. Let us sit down and talk about things’.” We slipped into an orange overall and headed off to ask TK what to expect…
MASTER BEHIND BARS
Our missing Mastermind has been in prison, crammed into a cell with about 10 other criminals. And he’s had a good few months to brood over those dark thoughts. “Mastermind is definitely a family person. This will be his first Christmas in prison and as much as he has always had a very small family, that family meant the world to him. Now he is spending it away from people who love him for the very first time, it is a very, very lonely and depressing time for him. He’s not happy at all,” says TK. He also feels abandoned by Nkunzi (Masoja Msiza) and his gang. “He is bitter. And when he tries to call them, he says, ‘I have protected you guys. You guys should be in here with me. But you can’t even send me food inside. You don’t come to visit’.”
BOTTOM TO THE TOP
This is not Mastermind being a drama queen because he misses biscuits and chit- chat. Having no outside support puts him in a dangerous position. “In jail, they speak one language and one language only. If you cannot bring us cigarettes to smoke, then we will bully you and hit you,” explains TK. “If your visitors bring you lots of cigarettes and you can just walk around inside giving everyone cigarettes, then you are well taken care of.” The consequences of his lack of support will play out on Thursday 20 December. “Mastermind has an encounter with someone who is on Nkunzi’s payroll – Njeza (Nkanyiso Makhanya). Njeza is in charge of the cell and he fights with Mastermind,” says TK. But perhaps a chance to prove himself is all that Mastermind needs to get back on top on Friday 21 December. “When Mastermind gets into a physical fight with him and he beats up Njeza, that’s when he claims his glory inside the prison. He is basically the new boss inside,” reveals TK.
FRIENDS IN LOW PLACES
With Mastermind now top dog, his Christmas won’t be as bleak as he’s expecting. Njeza’s sister Nonka (Thuthuka Mthembu) takes a shine to our handsome hijacker and wants to give him all her Christmas goodies. Their meeting on Tuesday 25 December is the first scene that TK shot upon returning to Uzalo. “Nonka and the
prisoners’ family members come and they bring those family tins of biscuits and doughnuts and food and whatever. We see Mastermind enjoy certain foods and unwrapping presents from Nonka because she has a crush on him. She keeps giving him things since Njeza is now in solitary!”
A HAUNTED PAST
But Christmas joy is short-lived because on Wednesday 26 December, Mastermind will get a video that shatters him. “Mastermind has been thinking about
Smangele (Sihle Ndaba). Then he gets a video of
Mxolisi (Nay Maps Maphalala) killing his own mom
MaNzuza (Leleti Khumalo), but Mastermind also gets a video of the fact that he himself shot and killed Smangele, his own sister (both shooting happened on Wednesday 14 February 2018). So he is fighting all these emotions. And he’s been reflecting on the death of his younger sister Amandla (Lungelo Mandondo) in December 2015 too. He is trying to put back the pieces of his life and this is when he tries to talk to Thobile (Nokuthula Mabika) again,” reveals TK.
LOSING LOVE
Mastermind’s fiancée Thobile has being trying to move on though and on Monday 31 December she kisses Wandile (Katleho Mofokeng). That’s going to come back and bite her on Tuesday 1 January. Gossip flies in KwaMashu – even in prison. “At first he doesn’t know. She talks and acts as if nothing has happened. They’re still in a relationship – until Nonka, who has a crush on Mastermind, brings him a video of Thobile kissing Wandile. That is how he finds out. Then he asks if Thobile still loves him and he tells her, ‘I will ask the warden to do me a favour and get me a private room and you and I will indulge in sexual intercourse’, just to see her reaction!” says TK.