Igiza episode 1 recap: Prison chic and ice-cold nerves of ‘steal’

Igiza episode 1 kicks off with us meeting identical twins Linda and Nicole in their very different worlds. 

Nicole is clad in a black-and-white striped prison uniform, serving time for a crime we know nothing of yet, drinking watery prison porridge and getting harassed by prison guards while also being forced to offer sexual favours to a very sleazy prison warden.

By contrast, the sophisticated Linda runs her successful fashion house with an icy attitude that makes everyone cower at the sight of her. With the backing of some big investors, she’s just gearing up for the launch of her tenth clothing store, a move that will take her to the next level.

Watch Igiza episode 1 trailer

But their lives are about to change in the most spectacular fashion as Nicole sets her plan in motion to take back everything she’s owed. Linda betrayed her in the past and is now going to get a taste of her own medicine. 

Kevin Samuel plays Linda’s ambitious and calculating husband Reggie. Like Linda, Reggie will do anything to get ahead, even use his wife’s business to launder money for a very dangerous crime syndicate.

Igiza episode 1 also introduces us to Blessing Lung’aho as Dom, Nicole’s very capable accomplice.

Igiza’s storyline plays out against the backdrop of Nairobi’s fashion industry and the money laundering world, popularly known as wash wash. “Both these worlds are about image and status. And we chose them because of their current nature and relevance in the Kenyan society,” director and producer Abdi Shuria says. “The wash wash industry in Kenya is unlike any other around the world. Here, money launderers openly flaunt their wealth, living large and dangerously. I found this to be an irresistible opportunity to dive into that underworld and uncover a different side of Nairobi.”

The prison setting is also key to the show’s storyline, introducing us to an interesting cast of characters who are not so different from those plotting in the world beyond the prison walls. These include Musa, the crooked warden (Ainea Ojiambo, Kina); Senje, the hateful prison guard (Eillene Otieno) who derives pleasure from tormenting Nicole; and Salome (Sheila Ndanu, Maria), who runs the prison and who has a bigger stake in Nicole’s revenge mission than we first realize.

Catch Igiza now streaming on Showmax, with new episodes releasing every Monday.