The continental reality TV show, Big Brother Africa is back and as always brings with it controversy and human emotion never before conceivable in primetime entertainment, writes TLOTLO MBAZO.

Beyond the appalling brawls, annoying tantrums, shouting matches, explicit lust,  personality conflicts and emotional aches, Big Brother Africa has over the years revealed the man within, without any attempts at censorship.
It is for this reason that the show remains under continuous scrutiny. It has made us mindful of how we humans think, act and relate with those around us.
These 14 personalities, with very diffferent traits, remind us of a few people we know and others shockingly remind us of our selves.
Many people have vowed that they would never be found dead in the Big Brother House, perhaps not only because they want their private lives to remain as such, but because they are not too sure how they would act.
Surprisingly their curiousity of what becomes of the housemates keeps them watching.
It is also very easy to define the reality show that has gripped the attention of the old and young alike, across Africa, as fun.
But labeling it as purely fun would be the wrong way to approach it. There are serious matters that Big Brother Africa reflects and creates, most of which should scare rather than amuse us.
The show to a greater extent symbolizes an age in which there is a collapse of traditional authority, as a result we know less and less of what is right and wrong. Big Brother confounds, exhilarates and annoys us by relaying to us the very symbols of our discredited age.
Botswana’s representative in season three, Tawana Lebani, was a true reflection of this truth. Although many Batswana wished her out of the house at some point. Some reveled in the excitement and thrill that she created in what she said and the way she handled herself.
When the announcement was made that this time around Big Brother Africa will feature past housemates, the difference in opinion about the girl, resurfaced.
Whether she was the ‘right’ representative or not. But I ask, in Big Brother terms, what is considered ‘right?’
Big Brother enthusiasts have also asked; in an age where priests are gay, when the African extended family is dead, what is wrong with a show that has no rules, no script and is about nothing?
They reckon Big Brother Africa is back to create a liberated Africa, the veneration of cool, the elevation of posh. Why not, when churches, mosques and governments that once laid down the law have been largely discredited?
Some say it is just a game. However, the reality beyond the game is what baffles and never ceases to amaze.
Is it that people are always ready to do whatever it takes to win or it is a game of human nature that pushes people to do what they would normally do even in the absence of cameras?
What the show has been able to do is reveal the reality in people’s psycho, not only of the housemates, but of the viewers as well.
While housemates exhibit elements of deceit and backstabbing to save their own skin and interests, viewers work hard to keep the most controversial, outspoken and interesting housemates in the house.
That is why Botswana’s representative in season two, Justice Motlhabani, was not given a chance.
According to viewers he was too boring and had nothing to offer. He simply displayed a lack of zeal for life in the house.
He was a big baby. Enthusiasts could not stomach that.
The nastiness and foul talk, which keeps viewers excited, are the very things that pushed him out of the house. In the past seasons of Big Brother Africa, matrimonial unions and relationships with the outside world have not only been tarnished but some have been sacrificed, all in the name of money.
Now that all the 14 housemates have been there before, during the launch many expressed that they would not do it again.
South Africa’s Lorato, who had a fling with Zambia’s Maxwell in season two, said during the launch that she would never do that again.
This goes for Meryl, Code and Tatiana, all of whom have had relationships in the house. We will wait to see.
The only married housemate who has ever competed for the grand prize, Richard of Tanzania did walk away with the $100 000 in season two amidst concerns of how he carried himself in the house as a married man.
Why did Richard then go on to win the grand prize? It is simply because Richard gave viewers a reason for them to watch the show. It is here that the question of whether what he was doing was ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ comes secondary. Big Brother fanatics claim that it is all about entertainment, but shouldn’t it be about more than that? Maybe not.