Durban - Fists flew, insults were thrown, egos were bruised and hearts broken when ex-convict Jub Jub and the crew of Uyajola 9/9 visited Newlands West, Durban, in its season finale last Sunday.
The show on Moja Love, a channel on DStv, is a spin-off from the US reality show Cheaters.
Uyajola 9/9 helps disgruntled lovers, who suspect their partners of cheating by investigating and then confronting the suspects who are always caught red handed.
The episode last weekend featured a woman who had not seen her partner in 18 months. She had contacted the show and their investigations led them to Newlands West. It turned out, the man was in a relationship with another woman for more than four months and when his new lover found out that she was not the only one, all hell broke loose.
Jrey Fisher, a relative of the man’s new partner, said they were at a friend’s party when suddenly a group of men gatecrashed with cameras.
“We were chilling and having a nice time and all of a sudden we heard this commotion. We were in shock and I can’t tell you how many people were there because everything happened so quickly,” she said. “We saw the girlfriend attacking my cousin and then it went down.”
Fisher said when her cousin decided to walk away from the drama it became her fight because they always had each other’s backs. She said things got out of hand, a lot could have been prevented.
“But at least my hair was looking good,” she said. “We were not even thinking but I would change the way that I handled things.”
Since the premiere of the show in May last year, sceptics have been accusing producers of paying actors and staging events for ratings. However, Fisher said all that viewers saw was a true reflection of what happened.
The show has also been heavily criticised for exploiting black people’s pain for ratings and choosing a former convict as its main host.
Jub Jub and friend Themba Shabalala were found guilty of culpable homicide for killing four learners during a drag racing accident in 2010. Both were initially handed 20 years but sentences were later reduced to 10.
Jub Jub was released on parole in 2017.
Bokani Moyo, head of Moja Love said they’re an equal opportunities employer and that Jub Jub originally joined as a presenter for Uthando Noxolo, a show about redemption and forgiveness.
“There can be no rehabilitation without redemption and forgiveness. Jub Jub demonstrated his willingness to do the hard work.
“We then chose him with several other candidates to be the presenters for the first season of Uyajola 9/9. He fits the requirement for the role.
“He received a positive response in the first season so we decided to use him as the main presenter for the second season,” said Moyo.
He said the public’s response and support for the show had been overwhelming.
The show is on a production break but viewers can see Jub Jub on a new reality show You Promised to Marry Me starting this evening at 9pm.
Sunday Tribune