“It’s one of the best roles of my career but it could have come a bit earlier” Alfred Munyua says about Crime and Justice

In a perfect world where justice prevails, perhaps Silas would be the kind of detective that the viewers expect him to be every week a new case is pursued in the Showmax Original Crime and Justice. Perhaps he’d be the best crime-solving partner Makena could ask for and not the unhurried, by-the-book detective who, most of the time, lets her carry the weight of the justice system. But the world isn’t perfect, and the justice system is flawed, especially in the real world where Crime and Justice draws so much from.

At some instances, Silas might come off as impeding justice but according to Alfred Munyua, who plays him, he’s simply a seasoned detective who has been around for years and has since resigned himself to the fact that he cannot change the system.

“Silas is not really corrupt; he just realised along the way that he can’t reinvent the wheel. And so, gradually, and without him maybe noticing, the passion he had went down over the years.”

Having been in the industry for over a decade, Munyua had been waiting for a role like Silas for years, and the complexity of his character makes it even worth the wait. “It feels right in so many ways,” he says. “I have experienced both ends of the pendulum, and I can tell you this is one of the best projects that I’ve been engaged in… but it could have come a bit earlier.”

The Showmax Original series, which airs weekly, follows Munyua and Sarah Hassan as Nairobi Metropol Police lead detectives Silas and Makena, who investigate one ripped-from-the-headlines case per episode.

A police procedural and legal drama, viewers have compared Crime and Justice to TV shows like CSI and Law & Order. Some have even tried to identify Makena’s and Silas’ American equivalents. For Munyua, a fan of such detective shows himself, he didn’t really need to draw comparisons or study his favourite detective characters to prepare for his role as Silas.

“You can’t really put a finger on Silas as compared to CSI or anything because it’s a Kenyan story,” he says.

The research he had to do to get into character was mainly from the cops he sees around. “I have friends who are detectives. I just had to draw a few of their nuances and how they carry themselves, then apply it to Silas as a character. I had to look at the dialogue, the relations between Silas and his bosses and also with his partner, for me to find who he uniquely is.”

Of course, there are parts of him that were easier to inject into Silas, especially in those moments that Crime and Justice tackles serious, topical issues such as domestic violence and femicide.

While Munyua says that Silas constantly checks his emotions, not to give away a lot, he reveals that the character is not as indifferent as he may seem. “He (Silas) feels the pain of the victims, which I totally relate to because I’m into women’s rights and equality.”

Silas is also a man with a wandering eye for beautiful women, something Munyua laughs about. “He’s charming, and he likes the ladies, which I also do,” he jokes.

Catch Crime and Justice episode 1-6 on Showmax. New episodes air every Monday. Check out a video of the full interview below:

Showmax’s Crime and Justice explores terrorism in a bold new episode

You know how we have just come from the long Pasaka Weekend? Well, I was looking forward to it for something else; a guilty pleasure if you will. I was looking forward to the latest episode of my favourite show, Crime and Justice.

And boy does it deliver. It actually also got me thinking about how Kenyans rant and rave about shows such as “24” and “Blacklist” yet do not give our own homegrown talents the same opportunity to blow our minds because trust me when I tell you that everything about this show is stellar!

Showmax Crime and Justice

We have Sarah Hassan, John Sibi-Okumu, Alfred Munyua and the rest of the cast that are immensely talented. the acting is not overdone nor is it plastic. You even get excited with every twist and turn of the episode as you live through the experiences of our favourite detectives.

Showmax Crime and Justice
Detectives Silas and Makena

And seeing Kenyan locations that you can relate to adds to the excitement because everything feels that much more immersive and authentic. But back to the most recent episode called “Homegrown” and as the name suggests, it is a rather creative take on terrorism that might have found rich soil to take root in at our universities.

The episode does not shy away from bluntly portraying Kenya’s procedural police work and the fact that the two detectives have made peace with the fact that they have to do everything within their power to keep their city safe.

What’s more is that Showmax allows you to get to watch this great show and a whole host of others for just three hundred and eighty shillings. That’s right, 380. Check it out here.

 

Crime and Justice is one of the best shows Kenya has ever produced

When you think of crime shows, we often think of American shows. Rarely if ever do we think of Kenyan shows. Infact, if you were, you would be forgiven for probably only think of the golden age show, Tahamaki.

But Kenyans have come a long way in the production of their TV shows and Crime & Justice is proof of this fact. And to make the show a hit, it only made sense for the team that envisioned it to seek out and work with some of the most talented Kenyan actors of our generation. The show which stars Sarah Hassan and Alfred Munyua is definitely something to get excited about.

Crime and Justice is premised around a pair of fictitious police detectives called Silas and Makena who are trying to keep the streets of Nairobi safe and the stuff they have to deal with. And trust me when I say Sarah Hassan and Alfred Munyua deliver with some of the best acting not only of their careers but that I have ever seen.

The beauty of the show is that it has successfully married talented and inspired acting with a great script and plot that sees it move beyond being a shoot-em-up style of police show and focuses on the procedures they have to employ to including trusting their gut feelings and following the thread of evidence to build cases. You get to see the Kenyan police force and its detectives as human beings employing their wit and intelligence in every aspect of their job. That means we get to delve into evidence collection and forensic processes, arrest and interrogation as well as them testifying in court to try and seal a conviction.

The cases they have taken up so far are also very interesting and varied and include love gone sour in “The Mistress” which is a rather unique approach for a Kenyan crime show. It artfully blends the drama of love turned sour with crime in such a believable manner to give you a brilliant introduction to Crime and Justice.

And the show is proudly brought to you by Showmax which has had a strong show of support for Kenyan content that is of international standards. And you can catch Crime &Justice thanks to a fantastic offer they have. An offer tailor-made for Kenyans and thus the cost isn’t prohibitive. For only KSH 380 per month, you get an all-you-can-eat buffet style access to the entire library of movies and shows that they have.