Vuyiswa has been a widow for seven months. In African society, too soon for her to move on. But in his will, Jerry gave Vuyiswa his blessings for her to move swiftly on without bothering for a mourning period. Remembering Jerry Maake, I find myself pondering the question; if your partner was run over by a drunk driver, do you think you would ever be attracted to their killer?
R2,000,000 reward for Mvelo
The police were clueless as to baby Mvelo’s whereabouts and the kidnappers hadn’t made a ransom demand. Brutus who loves other people’s children more than his own, who are living fatherlessly in KZN and elsewhere – eyeroll – announced a two million rand reward for information leading to the return of Kagiso’s daughter. The usual suspects who love money – Patronella, Schumacher, Mjekejeke and Queen Gold Digger, Siyanda – formed an alliance in the hunt for Mvelo. Not that they love Mvelo so much but because they love money.
Shaka loses R20 000 000
After baby Mvelo went missing, the Khozas went into panic mode. There were no leads to Mvelo’s whereabouts. It was a case of good news and bad news, when the kidnappers finally made contact. They had a ranson demand, which is good news if you’re a wealthy drug dealing family because money is no object. But the kidnappers demanded R20,000,000. A lot of money, even for drug lords. The Khozas each smashed their piggy banks, tore up their mattress banks and dug up their buried chests of cash but only managed to come up with R18,000,000. They were R2,000,000 short and Uncle Brutus was the only one who had refused to chip in.
“I smell a scam,” said Brutus.
At the last moment, Brutus tossed a bag filled with cash at Shaka. They now had R20,000,000.
Kagiso and Shaka were tasked with the delivery of the money in an alley somewhere. The emotional Goodness tagged along, against Harriet’s instructions. The plan had been for Shaka to hide until the kidnappers showed up to collect the money. In the meantime Kagiso and Goodness followed the kidnappers’ instructions to a park where they would find Mvelo. A bundle of blankets loomed ahead in the park. Goodness ran to the bundle. She picked it up and unwrapped it… a doll.
Back in the alley, Shaka was waiting with gun in hand for anything that so much looks at the money he had concealed in a rubbish bin. Three street kids arrived on the scene and began to harass him. By the time Shaka sent them on their way, the bin had been tipped over and the money was gone. Twenty million is a lot of money, even for drug dealers. And if it was raining in Kagiso and Goodness’ life, it really began to pour. The kidnappers demanded more money.
Goodness suffers mental breakdown
Ever since Mvelo was taken, Goodness hasn’t eaten or changed out of her pyjamas. Pray for Kagiso’s nostrils because he shares a bed with her. Harriet and Noma arranged for a counselling therapist to speak to her. Things suddenly deteriorated when the therapist spoke about “dealing with loss”.
Goodness blew a vein!
“Loss? What loss? Are you insinuating my baby is dead?”
The therapist did not get a chance to respond because it’s physically impossible to speak with someone’s fingers tightened around your neck. Thankfully Harriet and Noma heard the commotion and pulled Goodness away from the therapist. Had they been thirty seconds late, Goodness would be doing time for murder.
When Goodness found a lifeless plastic doll in the place where Mvelo should have been, I expected her to fling the counterfeit baby into the air in horror. But such is a mother’s love for her child that she carried the doll home. Goodness asked family housekeeper, Antoinette to get her Mvelo’s milk so that she could bottle feed the doll. Antoinette, Shaka and Noma exchanged puzzled glances once they saw Goodness nursing a doll. She seemed convinced that the doll was her baby. When Harriet and Noma tried to tell her the obvious, Goodness became verbally abusive towards them. She threw Harriet out of her bedroom, as if the title deed doesn’t say HARRIET MATHAPELO KHOZA.
It was supper time, the Khozas were all seated around the table. Goodness who has completely lost it was upstairs, probably feeding her doll. Harriet had just announced that she found someone to lend her money for the additional ransom demand when Goodness came downstairs. In her hand she held a gun. She aimed it first at Kagiso, then Harriet and then back to Kagiso. She made accusations of taking her baby.
Brutus asked Sgaqagaqa to deal with his baby mama. As Kagiso attempted to talk Goodness down from the edge, she fired. Fingers crossed she missed.
Vuyiswa falls for Jerry’s killer
Two weeks ago, Hector Sebata (real name Rapulana Seiphemo) and Vuyiswa Jola-Maake (real name Zandile Msutwana) had shared what can be described as “a moment.” Their lonely hands touched as they shared a bottle of red wine, which everyone knows is just Viagra with grape flavour.
Hector’s guilt for killing Jerry wouldn’t let him pursue Vuyiswa even though he had long caught feelings for her. But eldest daughter, Thando – whose real name is Qondi from Isibaya, whose real name is Jessica Nkosi – has been playing matchmaker. Probably because she misses Bhut’ Duma and Fezile, or Shaka Khoza from The Queen, gosh, it’s hard to keep up.
Hector finally took his daughter’s advice and shared an intimate dinner with Vuyiswa. But when she got up to get more wine, which is really just korobela in a fancy bottle, Hector’s eye fell upon Jerry Maake’s framed photograph on the wall. And suddenly tsunami of guilt washed over him. He quickly made his excused and left. Talk about being cockblocked by a dead man!
At work, things became awkward between Vuyiswa and Hector as the station commander battled to keep his feelings in check. They say people are at their most vulnerable at night. Perhaps it is something about the tranquility of the evening that makes for an introspective setting. Sunset brought a new clarity of thought to Hector. He rushed over to Vuyiswa’s house. The words tumbled out of his mouth as rapidly as the machine gun bullets that killed Jerry Maake.
“Vuyiswa, I want you. I have always wanted you.”
Vuyiswa was silent for a two, three, four heartbeats, as though doing ballistic analysis on the bullets that killed her husband. When finally she responded, her consent was roundabout.
“Say it again…. And again and again.”
They stood face to face with a two feet of air between their mouths. All across Television Land, two million pairs of eyes awaited that first kiss. But it didn’t come. Kodwa, sonke sibadala. We understood the meaning.
We saw that coming
The predictability of Phathu Makwarela and Gwydion Beynon’s scriptwriting has been dealt with ad nauseam here and elsewhere. Someone always dies at weddings, there is always a female anti villain and the husbands are the first to get killed. Last week, the hookup between Vuyiswa and Hector was very much in keeping with the Tshedza scriptwriting formula. On The River, Zolani was accessory to Mokoena’s murder and later married Mokoena’s daughter, Tumi. On Gomora, Ntokozo killed Mbongeni, he later dated the dead man’s daughter, Buhle. On The Queen, Shaka killed Mmabatho’s mother and later married Mmabatho. Kagiso killed Goldfinger Mabuza and married Goodness Mabuza. It was long written that Vuyiswa and Hector would be together.
There was a failed attempt by the police to apprehend the kidnappers. Following a tipoff, police organised a raid on a shack out in the bush. I was appalled by the lazy writing research; Tembisa police, led by Georgina, took the entire Khoza clan sans bulletproof vests to the raid. Real life police would not endanger civilians in that way.
Earlier, I asked the question, would you ever date the person who killed your partner? Obviously, the idea is unthinkable. Vuyiswa has no idea that Hector killed Jerry. If ever she were to find out, it would take the entire police force to stop Vuyiswa from killing Hector with her bare hands.
Till next week, my pen is capped
Jerà
The Queen airs weekdays at 9:00pm on Mzansi Magic and is also available on DSTV Catch Up and Showmax
Image and videos from YouTube
Connect with the author @RewindMzansi on Twitter