Ayanda Makayi sheds light on decision to have Bujy Bikwa on GBV docu-series

Actor Ayanda Makayi has shed light on his decision as executive producer to have rapper Big Zulu and media personality Bujy Bikwa in the MTV Shuga's 3-part documentary series, What Makes a Man.

This follows after Bujy and Big Zulu found their names at the top of Mzansi's trends list when they were revealed to have contributed to the show in addition to TV personality and activist Andile Gaelesiwe, rapper Maglera DoeBoy, MTV Base Culture Squad Member Uncle Vinny.

While tweeps were up in arms due to a misunderstanding that the two would be hosting the series considering the allegations against them, Ayanda told TshisaLIVE it was important to include the views of alleged perpetrators which would help in enriching the conversation and enlightening the public.

“The fact that they are alleged perpetrators just simply took our conversation deeper. It made our conversation richer. It meant that we are now bringing people into the room that will have a bigger impact in contributing towards change.” he said.

“There are other perpetrators out there who want a voice in this conversation and if we're not going to have some that represent them in the conversation then we're not doing this conversation justice.”

Both Bujy and BigZulu have both been accused of GBV.

In October last year, Bujy made headlines after he admitted to assaulting celebrity pal Boity Thulo in a heated argument. Pictures of the bloodied female rapper, who pressed charges against Bujy, went viral after the incident.

Sowetan reported that the former Isibaya star spent a night in jail in 2018 after he was arrested for allegedly assaulting his baby mama.

Ayanda says once the first episode premieres on MTV Base on March 1, the audience will get to witness Big Zulu speaking from a “rich sense of tradition” when sharing his views on men in society and he decided to also have Bujy as the perfect representation from the LGBTQ+ community and was cognisant of not diluting their stories.

“For me Big Zulu before he's an alleged perpetrator, he's a hectic representation of someone who is rooted in his tradition. For me, before he's an alleged perpetrator, he plays a pivotal part in society,

“With Bujy, apart from being an alleged perpetrator, he's part of a huge community that is not represented when we identify men, where we speak of a man. Just because someone's sexual orientation or preference is [different] doesn't mean they're less of a man. That person needs to come to the conversation as well.”

Ayanda, who also opens up about his journey as a man, says hearing different perspectives from men from all walks of life taught him a lot.

“My greatest takeaway is that cancel culture is so toxic for society in terms of contributing to change because there are so many lessons we can learn from people who have been alleged perpetrators, or who are perpetrators. The next person needs to learn what not to do, so if we're not willing to sit down with people who have done it, who are we going to learn from? We can speculate the reasons and causes [of GBV] but we've never lived it, so how can we give out the lessons. So I learned we need to sit down and speak, having these conversations.”