Two times Epa was the worst person on Enakhe

Men who build empires off crime are never role models. These men act like they are family-oriented, but their families are always collateral damage in their pursuit of power and wealth. They publicly preach friendship and trust, but their friends die suspiciously. When you make it past the façade, you see how despicable they can be.

Enakhe, Africa Magic’s newest telenovela, explores this type of man through Epa, the patriarch of the Iwinosa family and head of the committee of friends who run Benin’s underworld. He’s a vile man who comes across as cultured. His mask comes off when he is condescending to his second wife, sexist to his daughter, or in a flashback that showed his greatest sin.

Here are two occasions where he was at his absolute worst.

When he chose business over his daughter’s happiness

It is common for crime bosses to choose business over the happiness of people in their life. In one chilling scene, Epa did this to his beloved daughter, Enakhe. Enakhe is betrothed to Archie, the reckless son of Chief Unweni, Epa’s friend and business associate. Their marriage is supposed to unite both families and strengthen their businesses. However, Archie doesn’t love Enakhe, and she is not sure of her feelings for him, but has decided to marry him anyway (until she got fed up with his infidelity and calls off the engagement).

When she informs Epa of her decision, he downplays the situation, which is hardly a surprise because he, like Archie, is a serial, shameless cheat. But what is shocking is when he forces the engagement ring back on his daughter and warns her sternly not to remove it for flimsy reasons like her fiancé’s cheating.

How can this Epa be so wicked. His daughter can't even choose her own husband. #AMEnakhe

— PeterOkwuteobi (@udujiOmefo) October 2, 2020

This reminds us of Epa’s greed and misogyny: he only considers himself and doesn’t think of the women in his life. He sees them as properties to own and territories to acquire, and while he takes good care of them financially, he doesn’t necessarily care for them emotionally.

When he broke the trust of his friend, Eghosa

In one very revealing throwback, we see the roots of Epa’s wealth. It comes from the totem he carries and guards meticulously. The totem brings wealth to whoever owns it, and it was supposed to be shared between Epa and his late friend, Eghosa. They were supposed to alternate ownership every five years, and the person with the totem would take care of the other. But Epa didn’t share, leaving Eghosa to die a poor man. It is another occasion where the writers of Enakhe reveal Epa’s greed, which we hope to see more of as the story progresses, and the secrets of this vile man are unearthed.

Here. #AMEnakhe pic.twitter.com/2I59dXxWmb

— The Joyful Linguist®️ (@anafricandiva) October 18, 2020

Watch the latest episodes of Enakhe on Showmax, at the same time as they air on Africa Magic – plus binge-watch early episodes if you need to catch up!