When Crossroads replaced Sanyu on Pearl Magic Prime in 2024, it was clear they were stepping into bigger shoes. Sanyu was a beloved show that had launched with Pearl Magic in 2021, with more than 500 episodes – it was the longest show on the channel and had such a cult following.
Two of the actors that portrayed Sanyu on the show are still celebrated for the role. Then Crossroads happened, a story about two young people, lovers, who leave their village in Kakuto to try their luck in Kampala, the big city where they expect to make dreams come true. In Kampala, the two lovers; Mckenzie and Kwezi are thrown into the media world and their relationship, commitment and sheer friendship are tested to the core.
Mckenzie is portrayed by singer and actor Emmanuel Atuhaire, who at the beginning of the show was fresh off the successful theatrical run of The Phantom of the Opera at the National Theatre, and Sanyu where he was one of the leads in the final season. Kwezi on the other hand is portrayed by Rebecca Hope Iradukunda, a student and model who stumbled onto acting and run with it. On March 29, at Kampala Serena’s Victoria Conference Hall, Iradukunda received an award for the iKon Rising Star at the iKon Awards.
This was her first nomination and later win. Iradukunda has easily become one of the rising actors, easily recognised and loved for her portrayal as a prospective TV journalist struggling with her feelings for her first love whom she lost to the city.
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