THE XULUS GET AXED!
No Gxabhashe or Mkhonto in season 2
What would Uzalo be without Gxabhashe (Mpumelelo Bhulose)? Fans were appalled when he was “killed off” in July last year and there was much rejoicing when he returned from the dead in November. In his absence, his brother Mkhonto (Bonga Dlamini), who joined the series in June 2015, kept those Xulu home fires burning. But enjoy them while you can, Uzalo fans, because we’ll be saying goodbye to Muzi Xulu on Wednesday 3 February in Uzalo’s spectacular season 1 finale – and this time crooked cop Mabuza (Ncibijana Madlala), who’s on Muzi’s payroll, can’t save him. He’s not the only Xulu that we’ll see the last of… Mkhonto will also be gone for good.
While other stars we spoke to back in mid-November 2015 were already getting their hush-hush season 2 scripts, Mpumelelo and Bonga were sitting empty-handed. As shooting began on the second season in KwaMashu in early December 2015, the two actors were busy looking for other work…
A GRACEFUL GOODBYE
Yes, we’ll miss the strangely sexy loving father and gangster Gxabhashe. And we’ll miss never knowing what sneaky Mkhonto is going to do next. But the message from the stars is “keep watching”. While we sadly didn’t have the chance to follow up with Mpumelelo Bhulose before he left the series (we were applying to interview him when we were reluctantly told that he wasn’t available for interviews as “his contract has not been renewed”), when we asked Bonga about scripts for the new season in November, he was still in love with Uzalo. Bonga sighed a little sadly and told us, “I would like to thank them for the opportunity they gave me. I did get a call to say that I’m no longer going to be part of the show and they thanked me for my services and I thanked them for the love, support and opportunity. I would still like to thank the producers, Duma Ndlovu and Gugu Zuma, for the privilege and their support. I’d like to thank the people who’ve been loving and supporting the show, not just me or my character but this whole story. I hope they continue to love and follow Uzalo and support them so they can grow even better. I wish them well and know that they’re going to do great.”