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Melissa Mpofu Showbiz Editor
LAST year’s Big Brother Africa (BBA) housemate, Pokello Nare, has urged fellow Zimbabweans to rally behind JJ (real name Jerome Arab) and Butterphly (real name Tariro Mharapara) who will be representing the country this year.Running under the Hotshots theme, BBA9 will launch on DStv channels 197 and 198 on Sunday evening with JJ and Butterphly expected to join 22 others from Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Nare said housemates’ stay in the House was determined by voters from across Africa so it was important for Zimbabwe to support its own first before other countries rally behind them.

“Housemates play the game inside the House but it’s a pity they can’t vote for themselves. In order to stay longer, a person needs votes so it’s important for people to support our representatives as charity begins at home,” she said.

Asked about this year’s representatives, Nare said she felt JJ had an advantage over Butterphly because he had had the BBA experience before.

“I think JJ will have an advantage over Butterphly because he has been in the BBA system before and now knows how to manipulate it to his advantage.

“When they got into the House last year as fake housemates, they had to convince us that they were real housemates so Big Brother went all out equipping them with information and tactics to use for the game.”

The diva added that JJ would likely go far in the game because of his charming character.

“From the little time I spent with JJ in the House, I figured that he is very down to earth. I know he will be popular among the girls as he is your typical ‘Mr Nice’ guy. He loves girls and is romantic,” Nare said.

JJ was introduced by Big Brother as a fake housemate last year and spent about two weeks in the House. He left a mark after leaving a special romantic note for one of the female housemates, Dillish. This gesture made Dillish cry, something which earned him support from viewers.

Reflecting on her BBA experience, Nare said she was thankful to producers of the show for having given her a platform to shine.

“Everyone goes into Big Brother with an ultimate goal of winning the prize money. No one ever sees the bigger opportunity, which is the fame.

“Big Brother has made me so famous, something I never expected. Through the BBA fame, I have a lot of acting roles, endorsement deals and have pushed my Addicted to shoes brand,” she said.

Asked about wedding bells, Nare said she would soon tie the knot with her Ghanaian lover from BBA, Elikem Kumordzie, urging people to stay tuned.

The BBA Hotshots, who have been in South Africa for a month, will spend another two months in an isolated House with no entertainment and communication with the outside world. They will have to entertain themselves during their two-month stay as the television in their House will only be switched on during the live eviction show with music being played once in a while. The only regular voices they will hear are those of BBA host, IK and Big Brother himself. Once in a while, they will also have an opportunity to meet new faces when they carry out some of their tasks with different organisations.

Each week, one or more housemates will be evicted from the game. To stay longer in the House, housemates will need votes from viewers across Africa with the last man standing set to walk away with $300,000.

However, history has shown that having two housemates representing Zimbabwe has been a recipe for disaster as they usually do not get along with those supporting them outside the show usually having conflicts too. The clash often worsens outside when both housemates are nominated and each camp is trying to decampaign the other so as to secure votes for their particular housemate.

Last year’s representatives, Hakeem Mandaza and Pokello did not get along well with Hakeem vowing that he would never be friends with Pokello as they are not in the same league. Crystal Culverwell and Itai Makumbe – BBA4 representatives did not get along either with Itai having double standards, often backbiting Crystal and Crystal doing the same. They were not a hit among Zimbabweans either as they were not entertaining.

BBA7 representatives, Roki and Maneta took their hate to another level which saw them being the first Zimbabweans to be disqualified from BBA. BBA6 housemates Vimbai Mutinhiri and Wendall Parson are the only two Zimbabweans who had a good relationship in the House, often having each other’s backs. But those supporting them outside the show often clashed with their Facebook fan page administrators often exchanging words. Such was the case between Pokello and Hakeem’s camps.

It remains to be seen if JJ and Butterphly will get along and if those supporting them locally will also get along.