Lazizi

Lazizi
Genre	Drama
Created by	Reuben Odanga
Written by	Clifford Okumu Edijoe Mwaniki Joseph Akwiri Lucia Shikuku Rose Njoroge Shelly Gitonga Wanjau Wachira
Directed by	Reuben Odanga June Ndinya Aaqib Vincent Mbaya Davis Nato Mwajuma Belle
Starring	Mwaniki Mageria Jacky Nyaminde Helen Keli Isaac Okoyo Zander Andika Evelyne Gitonga Vivian Nyawira Joel Otukho Clare Karatu Michael Odhiambo Samson Omondi
Country of origin	Kenya
Original languages	English Swahili Luo
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	15
Production
Producers	Reuben Odanga Margaret Muriithi
Cinematography	John "Tush" Mbugua
Production company	Multan Production
Original release
Network	Maisha Magic Plus
Release	6 October 2025 (2025-10-06) – present

Lazizi is a 2025 Kenyan television drama series series that debuted on Maisha Magic Plus channel on DStv on 6 October 2025. The show stars Mwaniki Mageria, Jackie Nyaminde and Helen Keli as the leads. ^{[1] [2]} The show is created, directed and produced by Reuben Odanga, the creator of hit telenovela Selina. ^[3]

Premise

Mark Mbotela is a successful mogul in the sugarcane business in Western Kenya's sugar belt region, whose ambition leads him to vie for the Governor's seat not for glory, but for protection. As ghosts from his past resurface, Mark’s polished image begins to unravel. A dangerous love affair, buried secrets, and intense family rivalries all threaten to expose his darkest truths.

Cast

• Mwaniki Mageria as Mark Mbotela who comes from a humble background which fuels his ambitions. He is vying for a gubernatorial position.
• Jackie Nyaminde as Amina, Mark's ex and baby mama with whom they share a son, Shaffie. She is an alcoholic struggling with depression due to abandoning Shaffie.
• Helen Keli as Bridget Mbotela, Mark's controlling wife and mother to his stepson, Richard. She feels entitled to the family fortune and is grooming Richard to take over the business. ^[4]
• Isaac Okoyo as Shaffie, Mark's free-spirited son that is born out of his affair with Amina. He constantly feels like an outsider and yearns for a father's understanding; he finds himself having a complicated relationship with women and is hedonistic. He is initially unaware of his birth mother, Amina. In an interview, Isaac confirmed that he auditioned against thousand of young men to get the role. ^[5]
• Zander Andika as Richard Mbotela, Mark's stepson who is the Operations Manager at the Mbotela Sugar Factory and is being groomed to take over the company after Mark.
• Evelyne Gitonga as Natasha. Richard's girlfriend. Despite being in love with him, her love is unrequited.
• Vivian Nyawira as Sophie: Amina's daughter and Shaffie's half-sister. Having grown up with an alcoholic and depressed mother, she learned at a young age to only rely on herself to get things done.
• Joel Otukho as Juma. He is a Factory Manager at Mbotela's factory. He is loyal to Mark and has a soft spot for Amina. Having worked with the family and company for many years, he is privy of information that could be used against them.
• Clare Karatu as Talia.
• Michael Odhiambo Oluoch as Joram Mcapinde.
• Samson Omondi as Ondiek. ^[2]

Series overview

Season	Episodes		Originally released
			First released	Last released
1	TBC		October 6, 2025 (2025-10-06)	Ongoing

Season 1 (2025)

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	"Episode 1"	Various	Various	6 October 2025 (2025-10-06)
The Mbotela family hosts a party to announce Mark Mbotela’s bid for governor. As the celebration unfolds, Joram McApinde confronts Mark, reminding him not to forget the struggles of the local farmers in his political aspirations. Tensions rise when Amina, Sophie’s mother, crashes the event drunk. This forces long-buried emotions and unresolved histories to resurface.
2	"Episode 2"	Various	Various	7 October 2025 (2025-10-07)
In the aftermath of Amina’s disruptive appearance at the Mbotela party, Mark confronts Bridget over secret payments she's been making to Amina. Meanwhile, Bridget and Natasha, Richard’s girlfriend, scheme to secure a marriage proposal from Richard. As tensions among the farmers and workers escalate following the mysterious disappearance of a local farmer, Bridget tracks Amina down in Mwima delivering a warning to stay away from her family.
3	"Episode 3"	Various	Various	8 October 2025 (2025-10-08)
Sophie struggles to care for her miserable mother after the Mbotela Party incident. Mark is haunted by Amina’s presence at the party, prompting him to look for her in Matela. The reunion stirs long-buried emotions. A guitar, that was once forgotten, becomes a symbol of rekindled love, triggering Bridget’s worst fears as Mark brings the guitar back home.
4	"Episode 4"	Various	Various	9 October 2025 (2025-10-09)
After learning of Mark and Amina’s reunion, Bridget delivers a severe threat to Amina that echoes a past she refuses to relive. Sophie begins to question her mother’s elusive behavior. Amina divulges the truth to Mark about her disappearance twenty years ago. Bridget destroys the guitar severing any resurrected romance between Mark and Amina.
5	"Episode 5"	Various	Various	10 October 2025 (2025-10-10)
Mark Mbotela's passionate reunion with his first love Amina—a recovering alcoholic fighting to rebuild her life—unleashes a firestorm when his ruthless wife Bridget retaliates with vicious schemes. Richard prepares to propose to his media-hungry girlfriend Natasha.
6	"Episode 6"	Various	Various	13 October 2025 (2025-10-13)
A newspaper article brings unwanted attention to Mark’s problems with the farmers. He and Talia begin planning his campaign. Amina’s health worsens, and Sophie is deeply worried. Acting on premonition, Amina gives Sophie some files to read later. Joram keeps pressuring Mark about the issues with the farmers. Mark continues to pursue Amina to no avail until he makes a disastrous discovery at her house.
7	"Episode 7"	Various	Various	14 October 2025 (2025-10-14)
After discovering a terrible incident, Mark runs from the scene. A journalist keeps digging into the case of a missing farm worker. Sophie struggles with her mother’s death, while Mark tries to ease his guilt by spending time with Shaffie. At the funeral, they still struggle to raise funds until a stranger shows up, raising new questions.
8	"Episode 8"	Various	Various	15 October 2025 (2025-10-15)
A mystery donor steps in to help pay for Amina’s funeral. Sophie wants tries to uncover their identity. Bridget pushes Richard to hire an assistant, and Natasha takes over the interviews, for personal reasons. Sophie finally opens the files her mother gave her. Mark confronts Bridget about what really happened to Amina. Then Sophie finds something that changes everything.
9	"Episode 9"	Various	Various	16 October 2025 (2025-10-16)
Mark sinks into deep solitude mourning as the reality of Amina's death hits home. The pain is a combination of the love they shared, remorse for the hidden unfairness metted on Amina by Mark's family, and guilt for the things he knows he should have done better for her. It is a revelation of Mark's deep love for Amina, amidst turbulence from his wife.
10	"Episode 10"	Various	Various	17 October 2025 (2025-10-17)
Sophie stumbles upon shocking information that sets her on a mission- her path leads straight to Mamiit Sugar Company. Meanwhile, Bridget pushes for Richard to get a Personal Assistant to bring stability to the company. Tensions rise as angry farmers go on a rampage, leaving Mark deeply unsettled.
11	"Episode 11"	Various	Various	20 October 2025 (2025-10-20)
As farmer riots shake Mbotela Sugar, Sophie’s infiltration unearths deadly secrets—including her mother’s poisoning—threatening to destroy Mark’s empire from within, while fractured relationships, rising suspicions, and buried crimes ignite chaos among the Mbotela family. With alliances crumbling, ambition turning deadly, and truth weaponized, the dynasty spirals toward a reckoning where only the most ruthless will survive.
12	"Episode 12"	Various	Various	21 October 2025 (2025-10-21)
Sophie arrives at Mamiit Sugar on a covert mission to expose the truth about her mother’s murder, with reluctant assistance from Juma. As tensions escalate over missing workers, Mc Apinde’s activism, the Mbotela family teeters on the brink of a scandal that could destroy their empire.
13	"Episode 13"	Various	Various	22 October 2025 (2025-10-22)
Mark is caught off guard by a probing journalist, but Talia quickly steps up with a clever plan for damage control. Meanwhile, Bridget is overjoyed by news of Richard-Natasha’s engagement. But elsewhere, the past collides with the present as Sophie comes face to face with Mbotelas.
13	"Episode 13"	Various	Various	22 October 2025 (2025-10-22)
Mark is caught off guard by a probing journalist, but Talia quickly steps up with a clever plan for damage control. Meanwhile, Bridget is overjoyed by news of Richard-Natasha’s engagement. But elsewhere, the past collides with the present as Sophie comes face to face with Mbotelas.
14	"Episode 14"	Various	Various	23 October 2025 (2025-10-23)
Tensions rise between Mark Mbotela and the farmers’ union led by Joram, a strategic court order forces the sudden shutdown of Mamiit Sugar Factory, throwing the family into crisis. Meanwhile, personal dynamics unfold as Shaffie juggles his secret relationship with Olivia, Natasha publicly announces her engagement, and Bridget unexpectedly confronts Joram in a last-ditch effort to salvage the situation.
15	"Episode 15"	Various	Various	24 October 2025 (2025-10-24)
As the strike is mysteriously called off and tension brews between Mark and Joram over farmer share demands, Bridget secretly brokers peace while hiding her own risky involvement. Meanwhile, Sophie grows more determined to access restricted file room, believing it holds answers about her mother’s past, as Shaffie finds new purpose and Richard juggles pressure from Natasha and his family legacy.
16	"Episode 16"	Various	Various	27 October 2025 (2025-10-27)
At work, Sophie stumbles but Richard keeps her from falling. Natasha scores big, her smile louder than the deal, her glow impossible to ignore. Elsewhere, Shaffie and Olivia float in their own universe, where loyal whispers and time forgets to move.
17	"Episode 17"	Various	Various	28 October 2025 (2025-10-28)
Mark's political charm offensive takes a dark turn when he's forced to drink sugared tea by market boss Chrispinus Mc-Ojoo, a symbolic act that may be deadly, just as Bridget’s secret support to farmers threatens their marriage after a damning package from Mc Apinde arrives. Sophie risks exposure while digging into Mark’s past, and Richard’s engagement to Natasha begins to unravel, alliances crack under pressure in a world where betrayal is constant and only the ruthless survive when the sugar runs out.
18	"Episode 18"	Various	Various	29 October 2025 (2025-10-29)
Mark intercepts a thank-you package from McApinde addressed to Bridget, he wrongly suspects an affair, unaware it's linked to her secret talks with the farmers he's been exploiting. Sophie digs deeper into the Mbotela Empire under the guise of loyalty, and tensions grow around Richard's engagement and Shaffie's risky culinary venture, long-buried secrets and mistrust threaten the entire empire.
19	"Episode 19"	Various	Various	30 October 2025 (2025-10-30)
With Mark’s suspicion on Bridget and Joram’s possible affair, he sends out a private investigator to take photos. Joram and Bridget solve the farmers increasing issues in the midst of a chronic illness wreaking havoc on Mamiit factory workers.
20	"Episode 20"	Various	Various	31 October 2025 (2025-10-31)
Sophie edges closer to uncovering Mbotela family secrets, while guilt over Richard's trust threatens to derail her mission. Meanwhile, Bridget continues secret negotiations with Joram, Shaffie embraces his culinary ambitions.
21	"Episode 21"	Various	Various	3 November 2025 (2025-11-03)
Bridget seeks truce with farmers through Union Leader Joram, unaware they’re being watched. Shaffie is discontinued from the I.T faculty. Meanwhile, Natasha excitedly goes online to narrow down her list of wedding service providers- unaware of what’s looming beneath the surface.
22	"Episode 22"	Various	Various	4 November 2025 (2025-11-04)
Bridget's secret alliance with Joram and Agustino explodes when a PI delivering damning photos to Mark, igniting his fury—just as Sophie uncovers her mother's ties to the Mbotela Empire and Richard exposes Shaffie's dangerous school lies. Juma fighting a tainted sugar crisis that could collapse the business, the family's web of betrayal tightens.
23	"Episode 23"	Various	Various	5 November 2025 (2025-11-05)
Bridget discovers photos that hint at Mark’s awareness of her clandestine meetings with Joram, as Sophie finds the “Sucrose Ltd” files suspiciously empty. Tensions flare when Mark confronts Joram over Bridget and his involvement with his rival, Agostino. Natasha receives a chilling envelope from a contestant disguised as a service provider, she is being blackmailed.
24	"Episode 24"	Various	Various	6 November 2025 (2025-11-06)
Sophie cleverly enquires if there is CCTV surveillance and discovers that all footage from the previous day has mysteriously vanished. Natasha is bombarded in her DMs with compromising photos by the blackmailer that could affect her planned weeding. Joram is missing.
25	"Episode 25"	Various	Various	7 November 2025 (2025-11-07)
Mark subtly threatens Bridget over suspected betrayal and Shaffie secretly prepares for his culinary debut, Joram mysteriously disappears—sending Bridget into a spiral when her calls go unanswered. Meanwhile, Sophie receives a surprise visit from Wema just as she plans to lay low, and a viral video of Shaffie’s cookout inadvertently reveals a hidden location—where the shocking discovery of Joram’s lifeless body sends the Mbotela world into chaos.
26	"Episode 26"	Various	Various	10 November 2025 (2025-11-10)
TBC

Production

Development

Lazizi was announced in early September 2025 ahead of its premiere later in October. The show is produced by Multan Production, the creators of telenovela, Selina. ^{[6] [7]}

Producer Reuben Odanga cited the inspiration for Lazizi grew out from his upbringing in Western Kenya. He said "I was inspired by the flora and fauna of this country, especially the beautiful landscapes of Muhoroni which I recall from my school days. I wanted to tell a story from that region, something we haven't done before. It felt right to give the people there a story that would be closer to home and very relatable." ^{[8] [9]}

MultiChoice Kenya hosted the show's launch part on 2 October at The Monaco with all cast and crew members attending. ^[10] The event featured the premiere of Single Kiasi Season 4 which Helen Keli also stars in. ^{[11] [12] [13] [14] [15]}

Release

The show premiered on 6 October, and subsequent episodes air every Monday to Friday at 8 pm. ^[16]

References

1. Keya, Frankline (15 September 2025). "Jacquey "Wilbroda" Nyaminde Makes TV Comeback In New Telenovela, Lazizi". KenyanVibe. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
2. Milimo, Dennis (15 September 2025). "Wilbroda to Mwaniki Mageria: Meet the Cast of the Newest Telenovela in Town 'Lazizi'". MPASHO. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
3. Ochieng, Jennifer (29 September 2025). "Reuben Odanga Debuts New Telenovela 'Lazizi' Three Years After 'Selina'". Sinema Focus. Retrieved 1 November 2025.
4. Mithika, Boniface (7 November 2025). "Veteran actor Helen Keli on juggling 'Single Kiasi', 'Lazizi' and theatre life". TNX Africa. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
5. Etale, Martha (5 November 2025). "Meet Isaac Okoyo: The Breakout Star of Reuben Odanga's Lazizi". KHUSOKO. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
6. Kivuva, Mark (15 September 2025). "Wilbroda and Mwaniki Mageria team up for new Kenyan telenovela". KBC Digital. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
7. "Lazizi a new telenovela is set to premier on Maisha Magic Plus". Inside Kenya. 12 September 2025. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
8. Ooro, George (11 September 2025). "Telenovela Mogul Reuben Odanga Returns with 'Lazizi,' Starring Wilbroda and Mwaniki Mageria". Business Today. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
9. Ochieng, Jennifer (29 September 2025). "Reuben Odanga Debuts New Telenovela 'Lazizi' Three Years After 'Selina'". Sinema Focus. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
10. "Double Delight: Showmax And Maisha Magic Plus Light Up Nairobi with the Launch of Single Kiasi Season 4 and New Drama Lazizi". Soko Directory. 7 October 2025. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
11. "Kenya's newest series on Maisha Magic Plus, #Lazizi, is launching today". Buzzroom Kenya Instagram Page. 5 October 2025. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
12. Milimo, Dennis (2 October 2025). "Red Carpet Magic as Single Kiasi Returns and Lazizi Debuts in Nairobi". MPASHO. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
13. Ouma, Charles (4 October 2025). "'Single Kiasi' Season 4 and 'Lazizi' unveiled in a dazzling night of stars & stories". Pulse Live Kenya. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
14. Opondo, Agnes (6 October 2025). "Double the Drama, Double the Glamour! Single Kiasi Season 4 and Lazizi Premiere Light Up Nairobi". KenyanVibe. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
15. Kivuva, Mark (7 October 2025). "'Single Kiasi' returns as new series 'Lazizi' debuts in Nairobi". KBC Digital. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
16. Awino, Lynet (17 September 2025). "Wilbroda and Mwaniki Mageria Lead Cast in Reuben Odanga's New Telenovela Lazizi". Khusoko. Retrieved 18 September 2025.

External links

• Lazizi at IMDb
• at Maisha Magic Plus