Singer Sanaipei Tande has left her leading role as the unscrupulous businesswoman and villain Nana Tandala in the Maisha Magic drama series Kina. It is not clear why Sanaipei has decided to leave but she will be replaced with Mbeki Mwalimu effective today.
Kina which has aired on Maisha Magic Plus and Showmax every weekday since July 2020 is set against two different worlds, the poor residents of Misri who work hard but barely eke out a living and the rich who control the wealth and will do anything to keep it.
As Nana, Sanaipei sits on top of the world – an ambitious and powerful water magnate who will kill, bribe, blackmail and threaten anyone who stands in her way. Sanaipei describes her as “a loving and dedicated wife and mother, and also a businesswoman who gets what she wants at whatever cost.”
“This is a storyline like no other that has ever been acted here (Kenya), or that I’ve ever been involved in…And it’s only going to get better,” she said.
Tandala was Sanaipei’s third role on the screen having started her acting career with an appearance in the comedy series Auntie Boss and its spin-off Varshita, alongside Eve D’Souza and Maqbul.
“I’m not violent, I walk away from things and Nana being this person who’s not afraid of confrontation or handling the situation really takes a lot from me…Sometimes I feel like I’ve spent too much energy that I need to rest before the next scene,” she said.
Nana is a woman in control of everything around her – from the operations in her company Kina Waters to every detail of her family’s lives. The world bends to her will, even in the presence of her husband, played by Jimmi Gathu, who’s the Deputy Inspector General, a high-ranking official in the police force.
Nana is hardened and evil but we also get to see a softer side that sometimes even warrants some sympathy. “She’s very soft on the inside but on the outside, she really puts on this hardcore persona because you find that sometimes she actually breaks and lets her emotions get the better of her.”
