NIGERIA and ZIMBABWE confirmed their dominance of the Big Brother Africa TV show on Sunday as Karen Igho and Wendall Parson locked the final two places for a second year running.
Igho, a former stripper, and the Zimbabwean commercial airline pilot each walked away with US$200,000 after a suspense-filled finale to end the show’s sixth season and 91-day run.
Last year’s final ended in controversy after Nigerian model Uti Nwachukwu beat Zimbabwe’s Munyaradzi Chidzonga to the top prize.
Amid accusations of a fix, Munya flew home to meet President Robert Mugabe who handed him a cheque for US$300,000 – dwarfing the US$200,000 prize money won by the Nigerian.
While Karen was the runaway favourite to triumph on Sunday, Wendall’s strong showing surprised the show’s watchers. The self-confessed virgin was considered a huge bore by the show’s fans.
Blogger Oluwaseyi Ogunbameru said: “From the onset, Wendall has been very laid back and only had time for his cigarettes and beer. Wendall was never fun to watch, he could sit all day on a spot. He never exhibited any kind of emotions, rather he devoted his attention to his cigarette sticks.
“He hardly entertained , so he was definitely an unlikely winner.”
But Ogunbameru also observes that the Zimbabwean had a “positive side”.
“Although he was not interesting or fun to watch, he is hardworking. Voluntarily he cleans, unlike the other housemates who all make a fuss about household chores. He also wasn’t a pretender; he came clean about not liking Vina [Nigerian housemate] and also made it clear he doesn’t like being touched.”
In Sunday’s final, the seven remaining housemates each waited to hear their fate.
The first to be evicted was Nigeria’s “black queen” Melvina ‘Vina’ Longpert, who was competing with Karen for the country vote. After Vina was told to stand up, host Ikponmwosa “IK” Osakioduwa simply asked her to “please leave the house now.”
Crying, she left and joined other housemates who had been evicted earlier but were present at the finale, including Zimbabwe’s Vimbai Mutinhiri who was stage-side wrapped in a Zimbabwe flag.
After Vina, it was Ethiopia’s Hanni Makura, who was also told to “leave the house now”.
Suddenly, there were five standing: Wendall, Karen, South Africa’s Clayton ‘Luclay’ Misoya, Malawi’s Tendai ‘Lomwe’ Namate, and Uganda’s Sharon Salmon Kenge.
IK then pulled a stunner, telling the remaining five finalists to leave. Karen was taken by complete surprise as she tried to wrap her brain around what was happening.
As ordered, the five left the House and joined IK on the stage, where he showed them to their seats and announced the name of the next victim: Sharon. She was praised by IK for “being a fabulous and serious entertainer,” before being told “this is the end of the road, you have been evicted from Big Brother House.”
In interviews with IK before announcing the final results, the simply-dressed Wendall said he had no strategy in the house because “things changed every day” and he was there to “enjoy myself”.
Lomwe, asked what he would do with the cash if he won the ultimate prize, answered:”I will make my dreams come true and make my mum proud.”
But he was soon ejected, IK telling him: “This is the end of the road for you.”
Luclay fell soon after. IK told the “volatile and entertaining” South African: “You too have been evicted.”
The last two left standing were Wendall and Karen. While the rest of the world knew that the two had each one US$200,000 at that moment, the pair were still under the impression there would be just one winner.
When IK told them “both of you have won $200,000 each”, Karen fell to her knees and Wendall flung himself into his mother’s arms after she ran onto the stage.
How Africa Voted
Karen: 6 country votes – Nigeria, Angola, Rest of Africa, Ghana, Mozambique, Tanzania
Wendall: 4 country votes – Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Kenya
Luclay: 2 country votes – South Africa, Botswana
Lomwe: 1 country vote – Malawi
Sharon O: 1 country vote – Uganda
Hanni: 1 country vote – Ethiopia
Vina: 0 Country Votes
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