Nigerian Housemates Karen & Vina with Ugandan Sharon O definitely in the Big Brother Amplified Finale – Seven Other Housemates are up for Eviction!

The trio of Bernadina, Zeus and Mumba were evicted from M-Net’s Big Brother Amplified on Sunday night (17 July 2011) – meaning that just ten Housemates are in the hunt for the two USD200 00 prizes in two Sundays’ time!

IK started off this week’s show by showing the love that Big Brother Amplified is getting from across the continent – but got down to business pretty smartly by asking Head of House Vimbai to reveal her ‘save & replace’ decision early on. Resplendent in nothing but two towels, the Zimbabwean stood to tell her Housemates how she had used her power to influence the nominations. “I’ve always said from day 1 that I’m here for a cause and purpose that’s bigger than myself. I’m here to promote my country and the unity of my country, so obviously I had to save my fellow countryman,” she said, as Wendall thanked her. “The person I had to swap in had nothing to do with personality, nothing to do with character, it was not an emotional decision because I wasn’t in the space to make any decision along those lines, so I had to make the most practical decision. I feel bad because this is a very God-fearing person, a very decent person, a principled person and I hope Africa does what they do best – I had to choose a person who’d been up for elimination the least number of times and that’s Mumba, I’m sorry,” was her well thought-out speech.

After rising South African Hip-Hop star L-Tido got the crowd jumping with We Rolling, it was time to evict the first Housemate of the evening.

“I’ve got the news, let’s get to the business of the day. You know the drill, when you hear your name, please stand up,” IK told the Housemates. “Bernadina, please stand up. Vina, please stand up… Bernadina leave the House now,” he said.

Once the Amplified crew had performed and the Namibian had emerged onto the stage, IK confirmed that she had been evicted from the Big Brother House. “What are you going to miss most about the House?” he asked her. “I think I’m gonna miss the Housemates – we’ve had 11 weeks, 11 weeks is a long time to get to know each other, so I’m going to miss the Housemates -and not the messiness,” she told him. When he asked her who she thought had nominated her, she could only name Vimbai. Once she’d seen the nominations, where only Luclay and Hanni chose her, she said she was surprised to see that Luclay had nominated her, jokingly calling him “a traitor”. IK then gave her the chance to Blow a Fuse: “All Housemates will receive a message from home, except for one Housemate. That Housemate is…” he read out. “I’m sorry Luclay!” said Bernadina as the South African sat stony-faced on the couch. “Now you had an amazing time in the House, who do you think you’re going to miss least?” IK asked her. “Probably Vimbai because we weren’t that close, Nibbles as well, and most of the Housemates that I wasn’t that close to,” she told him. “What’s next for you, Bernadina, where are we going to see you next?” asked IK. “Watch TV!” was her typically bubbly response, before departing the stage.

Then it was time to go back into the House.

“Zeus, please stand up,” said IK. “Zeus please leave the House,” he said, almost immediately. “I’m going home, baby!” said Zeus as he hugged his Housemates goodbye. After L-Tido and Nigerian star Banky W had rocked the stage with It Ain’t My Fault, Zeus took his place alongside IK. “You had some pretty close friends in the House, you were close to everyone, who do you think nominated you?” asked IK. “It’s so hard to tell, I have a reason to think Vina might be one of them, maybe Sharon, she gave me a cold stare one time? Those two are the easiest”, the Motswana told IK. After watching the nominations, Zeus was clearly stunned to see that Wendall had helped send him home. “I’m definitely surprised by Wendall and Zeus – I thought they were my boys, I feel betrayed,” he told IK. “Don’t feel betrayed, be in the mood, feel vengeful, it’s time to Blow a Fuse!” IK told him. “One Housemate must wear a floral swimming cap all week. This fuse will last until this time next week. That Housemate has to be…” IK left the question hanging. “Wendall – you know why!” said Zeus. “What’s this going to do for your career?” asked IK. “Definitely more exposure, I hope more people get a chance to hear my music, let’s work! Thank you to Africa, it’s been amazing,” Zeus said, before departing the stage.

Big Brother wasn’t done yet, though, and IK took viewers into the House once more. “Mumba, please stand. Lomwe, please stand… Mumba, you have been evicted from the House, Lomwe you are safe,” read IK. Once a stunned Mumba emerged on stage, IK confirmed that she was to be the last Housemate evicted from the House on the night. Not wasting any time, he gave her the opportunity to Blow a Fuse right away. “One Housemate must only walk backwards until this time next week,” he read. After listening to the studio audience, the Zambian chose Luclay – “I’ve got two!” said the disbelieving South African, before dissolving into a fit of giggles at his misfortune. “What are you gonna be up to next?” IK asked Mumba. “I’m gonna take a chill pill and get back to work!” she told him, before bidding the crowd farewell.

Earlier in the show, viewers had gotten a chance to see what two of last week’s evictees had been getting up to. Miss P described the Big Brother Amplified experience as “amazing” and said that the experience had been totally different from what she had expected. “I don’t only see myself as a Motswana, but as African as a whole and I’ve learned we have so many similarities. It was loads of fun, a lot of emotions involved, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” she said of her experience.

Alex said that the best part of his experience had been the opportunity to meet people from diverse cultures –“even though we’re all one, we’re all African and our culture mix is so eclectic,” he said. “I came in with the strategy of being personable and comfy with everyone, however, it seemed as though the girls seemed to be drawn more, which resulted in a lot of drama and my nomination, but I don’t think I would have played it any other way,” he said.

IK had another message for viewers – “this Tuesday, we want viewers to send shout outs to the Housemates on Twitter. They will read out the best tweets live on air on Wednesday and if your tweet gets read out, then you stand the chance to be put in a random draw to win an awesome prize,” he said. Best you get going – send your best tweet @bigbroafrica and you could pick up some amazing Samsung gear. Some viewers who did win some fantastic prizes for voting and interacting with Big Brother this week were Laraba Dadieng (Nigeria), who won a Samsung Laptop, Agnes Ause (Namibia) who won a Samsung Galaxy S and John Akoluo (South Africa) who won a Samsung Camcorder.

Nominations
The nominations are in and Africa must choose – Hanni, Kim, Lomwe, Luclay, Millicent, Vimbai and Wendall are all in the firing line after the Housemates had their say on Monday (18 July 2011) on M-Net’s Big Brother Amplified.

On the other hand, Karen, Sharon O and Vina are assured of a shot at the two USD200 000 prizes on 31 July after dodging nominations. Karen fortuitously finds herself in with a chance of taking home one of the two major prizes after Vina crucially saved her and put Lomwe up for eviction in her place – with Karen only up for eviction after she had once again refused to nominate anyone in the first place! Big Brother cut short an uncertain Vina’s ramblings in the Chat Room and asked that she deliver her ‘save & replace’ decision – and she chose fellow Nigerian, giving her an automatic spot in the final next week.

· Earlier in the day, Hanni, Luclay and Karen had bizarrely refused to participate in the nomination sessions. Hanni told Big Brother that she didn’t have the right to make a decision about who should stay or go, Luclay wouldn’t really give a reason for his refusal to nominate any Housemates, while Karen simply told Big Brother to put her up for eviction.

· Wendall and Vimbai both nominated Kim and Millicent, with the former claiming that Kim’s personality had changed since she stopped drinking, while he felt that Millicent was being horrible to some of the other Housemates.

· Vina also nominated Kim, saying that she was a strong competitor – and then nominated Wendall because he is too competitive.

· Millicent also chose Wendall, because she felt he hadn’t opened up to her. Her second nomination went to Karen, since “Nigeria still has two representatives in the House”.

· Sharon O shared Millicent’s sentiments on Karen, while she nominated Vimbai because she wouldn’t like to go up against her in the final week.

· Lomwe nominated Hanni because she is the Housemate he has bonded with the least and Luclay as part of a strategy to remove all the other men in the House and help get him closer to the prize.

· Kim nominated ‘strong contender’ Vimbai and Vina, to see if Africa would save her.

The winner of Big Brother Amplified, headline sponsored by Coca-Cola, will be named on 31 July – and the power to award USD200 000 each to TWO winners, rests in the hands of the viewers.

Big Brother wants your vote: Just remember you are voting to keep a nominated Housemate in the House!

Which means, the more you vote for your favourite nominated Housemate, the better their chance of staying in the house.

When you Vote, you also stand the chance of winning weekly prizes, including DStv Decoders, and from Samsung: Cameras, Camcorders, Laptops, Smartphones and the Galaxy Tab.

The Housemate who receives the least number of votes will be Evicted.

You can vote to keep a nominated Housemate in the house in three different ways:

1. Using MXit
2. Via the website, or the WAPsite on your mobile phone.
3. By sending an SMS

To vote using MXit: open the browser on your WAP-enabled mobile phone, and type in m.mxit.com to download MXit for free. Then locate MXit on your phone in the applications or games section and register. Once in MXit, go to Tradepost -> Entertainment -> Mnet. You will find the Big Brother contact in the M-Net bot. Add the Big Brother contact. Please note that voting on MXit is free and you can vote up to 10 times on MXit per voting period

To vote online: Register on DStv Connect, or use your existing DStv Connect profile details to log in. (www.mnetafrica.com/bigbrother). Please note that voting on the website or wapsite is free and you are allowed to vote once per hour during the voting period.

To vote via SMS: send the word VOTE followed by the Housemate’s name to the number for your country. SMS’s are charged per specified network tariffs in the various countries. VAS rates apply. Free minutes do not apply. Please note that you can vote 100 times by SMS per telephone number during each voting period.

Angola
Unitel – 43333 – UTT 6.6 per SMS

Botswana
Mascom – 16626 – P2.50 per SMS
Orange – 16626 – P2.50 per SMS
BEMOBILE – 16626 – P2.50 per SMS

Ethiopia
Ethio Telecom – 835 – 5 Birr per SMS

Ghana
MTN – 1477 – GHC 0.60 per SMS
Vodafone – 1477 – GHC 0.60 per SMS
Tigo – 1477 – GHC 0.60 per SMS
Espresso – 1477 – GHC 0.60 per SMS
Airtel – 1477 – GHC 0.60 per SMS

Kenya
Safaricom – 5626 – Kes 30 per SMS
Orange – 5626 – Kes 30 per SMS
Airtel – 5626 – Kes 30 per SMS

Malawi
TNM – 15626 – MK 48.00 per SMS
Airtel – 15626 – MK 48.00 per SMS

Mozambique
Vodacom – 99026 – MT 20.00 per SMS
Mcel – 99026 – MT 20.00 per SMS

Namibia
Leo – 15626 – N$ 3 per SMS
MTC – 15626 – N$ 3 per SMS
Telecom – 15626 – N$ 3 per SMS

Nigeria
MTN – 34350 – N75 per SMS
Airtel – 34350 – N75 per SMS
Glo – 34350 – N75 per SMS
Etisalat – 34350 – N75 per SMS
Starcomm – 34350 – N75 per SMS

South Africa
Vodacom – 33729 – R1.50 per SMS
MTN – 33729 – R1.50 per SMS
Cell C – 33729 – R1.50 per SMS

Tanzania
Vodacom – 15726 – Tsh 600 per SMS
Tigo – 15726 – Tsh 600 per SMS
Zantel – 15726 – Tsh 600 per SMS
SASATEL – 15726 – Tsh 600 per SMS

Uganda
UTL – 6626 – Ugx 1000 per SMS
Warid – 6626 – Ugx 1000 per SMS

Zambia
MTN – 15626 – ZK 2000 per SMS
Zamtel – 15626 – ZK 2000 per SMS

Zimbabwe
Econet – 33334 – USD 0.50 per SMS
NetOne – 15626 – USD 0.50 per SMS

Voting begins immediately after the nomination show on Monday nights and closes at 06:00 CAT on the following Sunday morning.

Find out who has received the least number of votes and will be evicted by tuning in to DStv Channel 198 on Sunday nights for the live eviction show at 19:00 CAT.
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