Mzansi Magic is mum about which contestants will be part of Big Brother Mzansi: The Special reunion four-part series.
“We will be releasing more information closer to the time – for now, we are just sharing that there will be a Big Brother Mzansi: The Special show,” the channel told The Citizen.
From Sunday, 14 December, housemates from the past two seasons of Big Brother Mzansi, Umlilo and Siyamosha, return for a four-part special.
The channel didn’t want to disclose whether contestants from the fourth season, Umlilo, who were kicked out of the house for serious violations.
ALSO READ: Social media users believe BBMzansi’s Tshepo ‘Makhekhe’ should have his cake and eat it
How and why former contestants were disqualified
During the fourth season, Big Brother Mzansi disqualified Lindokuhle ‘Bravo B’ Nsele from the show because he, together with fellow contestant Tshepo ‘Makhekhe’ Tau, plotted to take advantage of drunken female contestants.
The targeted women were Zinhle Mofokeng, known as Zee, or Liyema Phantsi, known as Liema.
“We do not condone any acts that threaten the safety of the housemates on the show, and we take gender-based violence seriously,” the statement from the channel said at the time.
Bravo B was booted because he initiated and drove the conversation. At the same time, Makhekhe was reprimanded, and the channel said it would “ensure that Makhekhe is coached to call out anyone who speaks or behaves in a derogatory manner”.
Big Brother has issued Makhekhe with a double strike for:
Mocking other men for treating women with respect, and by extension, using derogatory language.
Use of offensive language when referring to acts of intimacy translates to hate speech.If Makhekhe gets one more strike, he… pic.twitter.com/ykEmlcFx73
— Big Brother Mzansi (@BBMzansi) January 26, 2024
Makhekhe was handed a double strike for mocking other men, for disrespecting women, and, by extension, using derogatory language.
“Use of offensive language when referring to acts of intimacy translates to hate speech. If Makhekhe gets one more strike, he will be disqualified from the game,” said the channel at the time.
Following Makhekhe’s final warning, viewers of the show demanded that the channel also remove Makhekhe – some even threatened to report Big Brother Mzansi to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA).
Big brother must make sure that he disqualify makhekhe and Bravo with immediate effect..we give him till Sunday…otherwise we report him to BCCSA…we can't be having rapists on the show..we can never let history repeat itself #BBMzansi pic.twitter.com/gqQFxGpJ9N
— Blaq Ayisha🦄 (@kadibetsow1) January 26, 2024
In the same season, Eulanda ‘Yolanda’ Monyai was booted from the reality TV show after spewing comments relating to sexual violence, targeted at fellow housemate, Sabelo “Papa Ghost” Ncube.
“I’m going to go rape Ghost. I’m going to force myself into his bed,” she told her housemates during the 24-hour live broadcast.
Yolanda did apologise to Papa Ghost, who is also the younger brother of broadcaster Andile Ncube.
Earlier this year, during the fifth season, Florence Mphirime, popularly known as Kay B, was disqualified for misconduct.
The former contestants had physically assaulted fellow contestant Bokang ‘Beekay’ Chephetsa.
“After careful consideration, and taking into account the serious nature of the claim, Big Brother has decided that the housemate in question (Kay B) will be disqualified from the Big Brother house,” read the channel’s statement.
ALSO READ: Support for Yolanda after removal from Big Brother ‘reveals society’s double standards on GBV’
The reunion show
The four-part series will air just four days after the conclusion of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence.
It would be seen as inconsistent with their previously stated stance if the aforementioned former contestants were included in the reunion, unless they used it as an opportunity to teach viewers and future contestants about the severity of GBV.
Director of Local Entertainment Channels at M-Net, Shirley Adonisi, said Big Brother Mzansi has always been more than just a reality show, but an entertainment phenomenon that captivates Southern Africa.
“This reunion is an extension of that, giving fans what they have been asking for…whether it’s closure or some kind of redemption,” she said in a statement.
NOW READ: ‘KayB’s behaviour has caused serious offence’: BBMzansi housemate disqualified for misconduct
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