Munya Vomo
THE TIMING couldn’t have been worse, when the Big Brother Africa house burnt down a few weeks ago only days before the launch of the show. There were so many conspiracy theories which were given to explain what had really happened.
The theories are as many as the people who care about this show and speculation centred on whether it really happened or if Biggie was pulling another stunt. It doesn’t matter, we are all roped into anticipating yet another season of this addictive show.
As a contingency plan, the producers of the show had gone as far as looking for another house outside the country but luckily for South African fans and media, another secret building was found in Johannesburg.
In true Big Brother fashion, the news did not end there. Snippets have been released and these include some of the contestants who we will see in this season. This kind of takes away the host’s annual duty of announcing the housemates on the night.
From Botswana we have 22-year-old Goitse who is a Fine Arts Theatre student. She was attracted to Big Brother Hotshots for the adventure. “People from different countries in Africa, all under one roof, no contact with the outside world in any way? Now that’s amazing!” she said. Little does she know that after a few days, the experience moves swiftly from fun to survival. She comes from a country where a contestant in the past had sex in the competition and life was never the same back in her conservative home.
Laveda, 23, hails from Tanzania and she is Bachelor of Arts and Social Science graduate. She promises us massive entertainment during her time in the show and, should she win, then the money will go to her mother and to charity.
Also from Tanzania is Idris, a 21-year-old photographer. His name will attract the girls but when they see him he is not really anything like his Hollywood namesake Mr. Elba. However, we all know the winners in this show all ride on personality and so if Idris doesn’t measure up with the looks he better hope what he has to offer in personality is good enough.
Tanzania has never won the Big Brother Africa contest and so this pair has history to make and we wish them all the best.
From a previously winning country, Zimbabwe, comes 24-year-old Butterphly. She is a radio and TV presenter and producer from Harare who loves reading anything from the Bible to Sherlock Holmes literature.
While she is entering the competition with the right intentions – to be part of a team and stuff – her decision not to use “backstabbing and cheating” is going cost her because the very anatomy of Big Brother is built on such behaviour.
Her country-mate JJ appears to have a little more confidence in his purpose on the show. As a musician, he is using the show to attract some fans, who he hopes to keep even if he doesn’t win.
After Elikem’s win, Ghana’s Kacey has big shoes to fill. He’s married and has a daughter, and so getting into the house is strictly business for him. These are some of the contestants that we know but more will be revealed as we draw closer to October 5.
Big Brother Hotshots will officially launch on Sunday October 5 at 7pm on DStv channel 198.