Siyanda has had the most unpredictable life on The Queen. She has been a WAG – remember her rich, Europe based soccer player fiancé Thabiso – she became a waitress after Thabiso became lawn manure in the Mabuza Garden, she thought she had married up when she trapped Kagiso with an imaginary pregnancy and then she plummeted down to reality as she retook her waitressing job after Kagiso moved on with Goodness, she found R2,000,000 and quit her job before losing it all and crawling back to the Corner House. The common feature in Siyanda’s up and down life has been Thato, the man who gave her many chances each time she messed up. It was therefore no surprise that only Siyanda – real name Cindy Mahlangu – had the guts to look into Thatho’s suspicious death.
Siyanda gets suspicious
Siyanda had a hunch about Hector’s involvement in Thato’s death. He had been making enquiries into the death of his uncle, Jerry Maake, when he perished in a car car. Siyanda knew that Thato had quizzed Anna, Jaros’girlfriend. When Siyanda, newly promoted to restaurant manager, saw Anna drinking at the corner house, she asked her about Thato. But Anna said she did not know anything about Thato. When Siyanda asked her workmates, they too confirmed that they had seen Anna in conversation with Thato the day before he died.
When Siyanda shared her suspicions with Schumacher and Mjekejeke, they discouraged her from investigating. But when Siyanda went to help Maipelo pack away Thato’s clothes, she stumbled upon a clue, if not a red flag. Thato’s wedding day suit still hung on a chair. The police investigation had been concluded as an accident that occurred when Thato was hurrying to the wedding. This gave rise to one unanswered question in Siyanda’s mind:
“If Thato was rushing to the wedding, then why did he leave his suit behind?”
Siyanda was convinced that Thato had found evidence of Hector’s criminal life and he had died while rushing to stop the wedding. Thankfully, Thato’s cousin, Maipelo, encouraged her to dig deeper
Schumacher and Mjekejeke chicken out
Siyanda called Mjekejeke and Schumacher to the Corner House. When she told them about Thato’s untouched wedding day suit, Schumacher and Mjakes exchanged puzzled glances. Like they thought she had lost her mind. Even after Siyanda explained that Thato was never going to attend the wedding without first changing into his suit they still werent buying her story. Siyanda told them about Anna who had denied ever speaking to Thato. Schumacher dismissed Anna as a drunk. The two men then reminded Siyanda about the danger of her mission. Hector was not a man to be trifled with and they wanted no part in her suicide mission.
Siyanda exposes Hector
When Vuyiswa returned from her honeymoon with Hector, a voicemail from Siyanda popped up. Unfortunately, Vuyiswa told Hector that Siyanda had summoned her to the Corner House to talk about a problem. Hector, the newly married man who cant keep his eyes off his wife, decided to tag along. Vuyiswa entered the Corner House alone, Hector had lagged behind somewhere. But just as Siyanda was about to share her findings with Vuyiswa, Hector entered the restaurant. Siyanda froze.
Fortunately, Hector excused himself and Siyanda seized the opportunity. Schumacher, finally overcome by the guilt of betraying Thato, stood by her as she told Vuyiswa that Hector was not only a drug dealer but he could also be responsible for Thato’s death. Vuyiswa did not believe her. Until Schumacher backed up Siyanda’s claims.
Goodness demands change of scenery
After Hector Sebata entered the Khoza property, shooting his gun, baby Mvelo was startled. From then on she became restless and kept Goodness awake night after night. Goodness had already intimated that she wanted to raise her child away from the dangers associated with drug dealing. After the shooting incident, Goodness again brought up the subject of distancing her daughter from drug wars. She began to push Kagiso for a move away from the Khoza mansion. Without asking her husband, she submitted Kagiso’s CV to an airline which had advertised for pilots.
“I submitted your CV, expect a call soon.”
Talk about a bossy wife. While Kagiso was still trying to process this, he found himself dragged into a meeting with a real estate agent who brought a portfolio of homes to look at. All the houses were in the Eastern Cape. Hayibo! Easter Cape? What about my mother, my brother and my uncle? Kagiso stormed out of the meeting. But it wasn’t the last he had heard of Goodness and her Eastern Cape ambitions.
Harriet makes compromise
Goodness and Harriet bumped heads when the mother-in-law offered to find Goodness a nanny to look after Mvelo. Goodness took this as an insult to her mothering ability. After a heated exchange, Harriet finally backed off, somewhat. She acknowledged that Kagiso and Goodness needed their own space. She began to renovate the cottage so that Goodness and Kagiso could occupy it. But, even after Harriet hired an A list celebrity designer for the renovation, Goodness did not want to “move into the maid’s quarters!” These silver spoon kids will reject free accommodation!
Kagiso and Goodness quarreled over the move to the Eastern Cape. It looked like Goodness had finally backed down. But the real estate agent contacted Goodness and told her that the house she had chosen was now available for a fraction of the original price. It sounded like a good deal and Goodness said yes without consulting Kagiso.
Unfortunately the property sale papers were delivered to the Khoza mansion and Harriet read them. She did not look thrilled.
Bring back Vuyiswa
I don’t think many viewers have fully acclimatized to the new Vuyiswa. There is just too wide a gap between Thembisa Mdoda and Zandile Msutwana. The two women are both Xhosa. And that’s about the only similarity. Thembisa portrays a calm Vuyiswa while Zandile was more feisty and had a police-womanly curiosity which would have never allowed her to accept Thatho’s death as accidental. The Queen changes episode writers, perhaps to ensure fresh ideas but this only adds to the disconnect between new Vuyiswa and the old one who obviously knows the character’s history better. Eish! No wonder Thato drove into a tree. Even he couldn’t stand this any longer.
Till next week, my pen is capped.
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The Queen airs weekdays on Mzansi Magic at 9:00pm