Siri ya Mtungi’s cast of colourful characters, related by blood or marriage, or simply by love, make up a community that is inspired by love, brought down by fear, superstition and betrayal, lifted by comedy and joy, and strengthened by the intimate bonds of family and friendship. It’s a story of relationships won and lost.
Between busy Dar es Salaam and the laconic streets of Bagamoyo, we get behind closed doors into the lives of Cheche and his wife Cheusi, daughter of well-known community leader, and polygamist, Mzee Kizito, as well as characters like deejay Duma, amorous Lulu, viperous Farida, lecherous Masharubu, and many more.
When Cheche is gifted a commercial studio by the late photography guru, Habibu, he finds himself not only taking pictures but becoming the focus of what other people want from life. Cheche’s relationships get complicated.
In his unique portraits of individuals, of families and friends, Cheche captures the soul of a community on its journey of hopes, dreams and personal crises.
He is also something of a lady killer, first of all getting entangled in a love triangle with his teenage sweetheart, Tula, and ultimately developing an insatiable appetite for many more lovely ladies who catch his photographer’s eye.
As he battles to keep a balance between work and home, the world around him changes at a furious speed.
Duma, a playa, has problems too – his beautiful girlfriend, Nusura, objects to his hedonistic lifestyle and criminal associations. And when Duma runs into trouble with her father, the slumlord Masharubu, hell explodes.
To the untrained observer, Mzee Kizito has a perfect life. He runs a successful motor garage and keeps his two surviving wives and 17 children in peace and harmony. But few know the trouble he’s about to get when he adds a third wife into the mix.
In the web of sexual relationships, twisted loyalties and cruel antagonisms, the lives of this family spin out of control.
Who will bring harmony again? Who will have the presence of mind to bring back the peace and prosperity they all desire? Which of them has the strength of character to reconcile their conflicts and restore trust?
The first season of Siri ya Mtungi, over 13 episodes, threatens to reveal a nest of secrets. All that matters now is how well they handle them.
To learn more, please visit the Siri ya Mtungi website.
