The Xulus
Mxolisi Xulu
Played by Naymaps Maphalala
Mxolisi Xulu is the unwilling hero who has to go on a journey of discovery, from being a good boy to being the leader of his father’s criminal syndicate.
From the day he was born, Lindiwe and Muzi (his parents) were convinced that that there was something special about their son, and did everything they possibly could to ensure that he had the best of life.
Mxolisi was born with a gift, he could sing - even as a baby, he could hum a tune that awakens the soul and soothes a broken spirit. In him, Lindiwe and Muzi saw a new continuation of the Xulu dynasty.
Growing up Mxolisi was exposed to violence, dodgy dealings, police run-ins and extreme excess, as a man coming into his own he is determined to distance himself from this kind of life. Although he does not approve of the family business, Mxolisi loves his family fiercely.
Muzi Xulu
Played by Mpumelelo Bhulose
He is a self-made man. As a child he watched his father, a driver, work tirelessly for a white man who did not pay him fairly and treated him with neither dignity, nor respect.
This caused Muzi’s father to act cruelly and brutally towards his wife and children. Muzi grew up trying to protect his mother and his siblings from his abusive father but, as a teenager, he decided he could no longer live in such an environment and he ran away to live in the streets.
His dad had taught him a lot about cars and, just like his father, Muzi was great with his hands. He exploited this while living homeless on the streets and learnt more about stripping and stealing cars.
He met Lindiwe in KwaMashu, she was gorgeous and one of the first of the black children in South Africa to go to private/white schools.
Muzi loved her from the first moment he saw her as a high school student catching the bus to school. He won her over and they have been together ever since.
Muzi is now living the life he always wanted with a beautiful and well provided for family. He wants his son to be able to take over one day, but doubts whether his son has the stomach for the business.
He will do everything in his power to make sure his son is groomed properly and does the right thing in joining him in business.
Lindiwe Xulu
Played by Dawn Thandeka King
Lindiwe grew up as the apple of her father’s eye, beautiful, smart and talented. She was the joy and the gem of her family and there is nothing that she wasn’t given, no activity she was not enrolled in and no opportunity she was denied.
All this despite the fact that she grew up during apartheid when black people having this kind of access and these opportunities was unheard of.
In high school, she met Muzi who was a dangerous, exciting ‘gangster’ relatively new in KwaMashu and the only man who was not intimidated by her, but also, the only man who was ever able to spoil her and provide for her in the way that her father was able to.
She was immediately attracted to his confidence, his danger and the fun and silly side to him that he only seemed to reveal to her.
She fell pregnant early in their relationship, though she had never looked at it as anything long term or serious. Her dad was incredibly disappointed, not just at the fact that she was pregnant, but also by whom it was that she was pregnant by.
Heartbroken, he disowned her and threw her out of the house. She was forced to look to Muzi for support, she decided that Muzi was her family now and they have been happily married ever since. A Bonnie and Clyde of sorts.
She is deeply devoted to her family and works hard at their relationship; there is nothing she loves more than her kids in this world.
Nosipho Xulu
played by Nompilo Maphumulo
She grew up as the only girl in the family - beautiful and protected. Because of the nature of the work that her family is involved in, a lot was kept from her and she grew up feeling shut out and excluded.
She has never been seen as strong enough to handle the grown folk business of the family.
This has made her extremely perceptive; there is nothing that goes unnoticed. Because information was never given to her, she had to learn to find it herself and employ various tactics to do it.
This has made her a great reader of people and situations; to the point that those around her feel she has a gift of sorts.
She has a good heart and is often the first to give a kind and encouraging word to those who need it in her life, but she uses the same skills to manipulate people and get out of situations exactly what she wants.
She is very close to her brother and more than anyone she sees his complicated feelings and melancholy and although she can do little to help, she is always available to him and looking out for him.
The Mdlethshes
Ayanda Mdletshe
Played by Khumbulani “Kay” Sibiya
Born to Zandile and Melusi Mdlethshe, Ayanda was accidentally switched at birth while in hospital by the nurses. Even though his blood is that of the Xulu’s, no one has any idea of the grave mistake committed all those years ago.
Ayanda was raised in church, but never had much of a feeling for it, he wanted something different ever since he was a baby, and would sneak out of church now and again. He feels stifled by the expectations of the church and his family on him.
His passion, love and ear for music makes him a producing genius, he also DJs on the side and he is really good, his parents however don’t support him in this. They tolerate it because of how much he loves it but they see it as a phase.
One of Ayanda’s biggest wounds is that he doesn’t possess a singing voice, something that his father has – and so he cannot be a part of the church choir, which is his father’s greatest accomplishment.
But he has a plan, Ayanda has studied the South African musical landscape - he knows that gospel music is well supported and has longevity. His plan is to use the choir to gain entry into the music industry, a record deal, fame and acclaim.
Growing up in this church context has weighed on Ayanda heavily. He has always felt emasculated in this world where everything is decided for him, his friends, what he does with his time, how he dressed and even what he believes. He longs to break free, to be a man and prove to his dad that he is a man worthy of his respect and regard.
Melusi Mdletshe
Played by Bheki Mkhwane
Melusi grew up as royalty in rural KZN, but he and his older brother were influenced by their uncle who stood up to the apartheid government, but in so doing, was deposed as a chief.
They looked to their uncle with great admiration, but grew to despise their father who kept the perks of royalty by colluding with the oppressive system of apartheid. While they were only teenagers they decided to leave the privileges of royalty and joining the ANC in its fight against the government.
When they got to Durban, the big city, they found out that Melusi was too young to join and would have to wait two years in order to do so. His older brother however was given membership and soon left the country for training with the ANC.
Melusi stayed behind to wait out the 2 years, but in that time was struck by the plight and poverty of his people. He noticed that there was a church that was doing all it could to make a material difference to the lives of black South Africans. They took him in and he began to work with them.
The church was educating, feeding, hiding and helping black people and although it wasn’t the ‘glamorous’ life of a freedom fighter he began to buy into its necessity and when he was at the age he could join the ANC, he decided not to and instead carried on at the church with ambitions of becoming a pastor himself.
He met Zandile, his wife, at the church. She was quiet and reserved, but seemed smart and like a woman who had seen many things and suffered much. Melusi still finds himself trying to coax his wife out of her head and her seemingly deep and troubled inner life.
Zandile Mdletshe
Played by Leleti Khumalo
Zandile was an anti-apartheid activist, she was always involved in politics from her student days she was involved in the student movements and protests and was a rising star and leader in those circles.
She was about to escape to exile when she decided to go home and see her family for the last time. She discovers that her entire family has been murdered. She knows the people that did this were looking for her.
She walks out the door, but is somehow lost; she doesn’t leave the country or ever return home, she just wanders the streets. A priest and a sister, who find her, take her in. She ends up living with them and working at the church although no one is clear on who she is or where she comes from.
She meets Melusi, her husband, who is immediately taken with her and although she thinks he is a good guy, she cannot see out of her haze of grief enough to engage with him properly. He is tireless in his efforts and his persistence pays off.
She gives in and the two are married, but she has never recovered from the traumatic loss of her family. She decided then and there that she would never grow attached to anything in this world ever again and holds everyone and everything at arm’s length.
Nkosinathi Mdletshe
Played by Sipho Mhlongo
He gets a little lost in his family, often falling through the cracks. He has always felt close to his brother, Ayanda Mdletshe, but feels a distance of sorts from his mother and a forced distance from his father and he has never been sure why.
He excels in school and finds it easy to obey and listen to authority. He falls in love with one of the girls in the neighborhood and a lot of his growth and becoming a man and his own person will be provoked and played out in this relationship with Amandla.
He is a computer genius and is very interested in all things technological.
Supporting Characters
Sindisiwe Dube
Played by Joanne Reyneke
Sindisiwe grew up in rural KZN, her life has not been easy, in fact it seems like her family has been followed by an unbelievable stretch of bad luck. It has been a hard life.
Her luck seemed to turn though when she met her husband. Unfortunately, despite their every effort, she has been unable to fall pregnant. On her deathbed, after a devastating illness, her mother Ntokozo tells her that all this bad luck the family has is from a mistake she made years ago involving two babies at a hospital in Durban where she worked.
Sindisiwe is relieved, excited and determined by the possibility of fixing the mistake and finally being able to put an end to the curse she believes is in her life. Finally she has found the cause of all this bad luck, including her inability to conceive and now she will be able to remedy it.
She is hell bent and will not be discouraged from her goal as she is convinced it will liberate her from a life of hardship and bad luck and finally give her the child she has so desperately wanted.
Mastermind Maphumulo
Played by Ntokozo Dlamini
He has grown up in poverty, in a broken home where none of his siblings share the same mother. He has had to grow up very quickly as both his parents died of AIDS-related illnesses when he was young and he had to assume the role of breadwinner.
He has been dating his girlfriend Thobile for two years; she is fun and very different from him, with her he gets to relax and switch off from all the seriousness and responsibilities he holds in the other spheres of his life.
One day he would probably want to be in the position to get married and do the other ‘normal’ things he sees men in his community doing, but he is aware that for now, he shouldn’t even hurt himself by trying to have those dreams.
Day to day survival and protecting his younger sister are his priorities right now. He has found a way to make money off his smarts and for now, he will have to be content with that. Charismatic and easygoing, he is an extremely likeable criminal.
Amandla Maphumulo
Played by Lungelo Madondo
Even though she is growing up in a child-headed household, she has never wanted for anything that she needs. She has grown up sheltered and protected from the evils of the place she lives in, but as she nears the end of her schooling and falls in love for the first time, with Nkosinathi Mdletshe - the priest’s younger son, she will need to wise up and have her eyes opened to the realities of life.
Thobile Ngcobo
Played by Nokuthula Mabika
Born to alcoholic parents, her mother died when she was 12 years old and her father is a drifter who wonders in and out of her life. She was adopted and raised by her aunt and uncle, who provided for her a loving and supportive home life.
Although she has suffered many hardships Thobile chooses to see her life as a blessing, she holds no resentments or bitterness. Today, she is a confident woman who fears nothing and lives for the moment. She has dreams of building a fashion and beauty empire.
She works at Nkule’s hair salon doing nails. She is Mastermind’s girlfriend and sees the two of them in the same league as Kim and Kanye, Jay Z and Beyonce. There is not a thing she doesn’t know about pop culture, she has a peculiar fashion sense and an odd sense of humor.
The queen of malapropisms, she loves using big words (though often in the wrong context) and is just as likely to quote Aristotle or Shakespeare as Chris Brown or Aliyaah. She posts 20 pictures on her Facebook page every day and hashtags everything.
She also speaks in hashtags. She is fun, street-wise and cunning but is often undermined because she is so jovial and fun loving.