Welcome to the Emerald House . . .

Well, at least Africa is in the know and just so you are kept on the loop; we present to you the lowdown on the fake Emerald housemates:

ALUSA

Kenya’s Alusa hails from the capital Nairobi. The 32-year-old boasts a Diploma in Communication and is an actor and radio director. Alusa finds Pokello’s boisterous nature very attractive. “She’s got this ‘I don’t care attitude’ and I like that,” he says with a broad smile. Should Elikem be scared?

He says he also admires his namesake Melvin for merely that reason. Alusa’s first name is Melvin. Asked how he will act around his favourite housemates, Alusa says “I will pretend, pretend, pretend. I have so much information on them so I know which buttons to press.”

BUSI
Twenty-four-year old Busi is a third-year BA Marketing Communication student from Johannesburg. She is a Gemini and those who know her well call her Busi K.
Her short temper and OCD around hygiene will definitely rub some Chasemates the wrong way especially because she genuinely thinks the Emeralds are better housemates than the Chasemates. “Ouch! I don’t like Pokello and that pink lipstick of hers. She says she’s the queen of swag, I am the KING of swag,” she bragged. I don’t like Feza, Selly and Beverly too,” she adds. Can somebody spell D.R.A.M.A. Well, it’s not all gloomy as the South African stylist does like Dillish and Natasha but she’s not sure how she’ll act towards her favourites. “I don’t want to sell you a dream. I am planning on going in as if I don’t know them though”.

EVEVA
Zambian Eveva is a massage therapist who runs her own massage parlour at just age 26. She’s from Chipata and just like Busi, she too is very short tempered and has a feeling that she will not get along with Pokello. “I know how to control my temper and I know how the housemates are so I’ll be guarded,” she promises. She’s got a thing for Angelo and Elikem whom she says she’ll like to get to know without giving the game away. Mhmm. Well finds the Chasemates boring because “they are playing the game too carefully and are being safe”. She adds that they aren’t too creative either. Looks like we’re in for a big surprise here.

JAZZ
Jazz, the 26-year-old copy writer from Nairobi, Kenya, is a creative working for a prestigious advertising agency. She is also an actress and entertainer. She too says she thinks she won’t get along with Pokello, Beverly and Feza citing gossip as her reason for not standing the latter. Natasha, Sulu and Nando are in her good books but she says she will act as if she’s got amnesia once in the House and keep her mind open.

JJ
The multi-talented JJ (22) from Zimbabwe is a singer, songwriter, actor, director and entertainer from Harare and unfortunately this eye candy is taken. JJ is focused on his goals and strategy right now and after the BBA experience, he hopes to go into movies and to make a difference in the world. “One thing I’m passionate about is teaching people how to fend for themselves in my country; how to best use the environment to serve you,” he explained.
1) What is your strategy in keeping to the mission given by Big Brother?
My strategy is to confuse people. I will feed off their reactions and use reverse psychology.
I don’t mind anyone in the House, and I’m going in with an open mind.
2) What do you think will be your biggest weakness?
What is my kryptonite if I was superman? Love. I don’t want to be distracted by a relationship.

SOFI
Twenty-year-old Sofi from Uganda is a freelance fashion designer currently focusing on jewellery. She has a shop that she co-owns called Tokyo35, in Kampala.
Sofi entered BBA because she thinks it’s the perfect job. She can just wake up, eat and sleep and relax all day.
1) What is your strategy in keeping to the mission given by Big Brother?
I will act surprised to see the housemates. We will stick together as the Emerald House and I will show off my perspective on clothing.
2) What do you think will be your biggest weakness?
Living with people from different cultures and backgrounds. Pokello will be my weakness. She is such an angry person.
3) Who is your favourite housemate so far?
I like Sulu. I also like Cleo because she is calm. Also because she is Zambian.
4) Will you act differently in the House towards them? “No.”
5) Is there someone you are interested in chasing in the House? “Melvin is very cute, but he’s quiet . . .”
6) What will be chasing after the BBA experience?
I want to build my brand. I’m going to use this as a stepping stone.
Now that we know who the Emerald housemates are and what their mission is; it’s time to sit back, relax and watch as the drama unfolds. Stay tuned for the Emerald’’s appearances throughout the week culminating in their full participation and engagement with the Chasemates from Friday July 19 when the ‘’three’’ Houses merge.
What are you looking forward to the most from the Emeralds? – DStv.

Selly, Natasha evicted
After seven weeks of entertaining Africa and their fellow Chasemates with sexy dance moves, cleaning and brawls, Selly and Natasha’’s luck has finally run out. This stunning news seemed to take the Chasemates off guard. Why wouldn’t it considering that Natasha has been saved from the Eviction gallows many times by Africa’s vote.
The Malawian’’s final Diary Session earlier on Sunday evening was more than cryptic. “Sometimes your luck runs out,” she said. And sadly, it has! All the pretty Malawian could do when she heard the news was to look on in stunned silence. Clearly her cleaning strategy, nor her fun Airtel Show could save her.
Selly, on the other hand, had to contend with the bewilderment of hearing Oneal had saved Elikem and put her neck on the chopping block instead. Before she had even had a chance to process that information, IK called curtains on her Chase race.
This Eviction capped a difficult week in the game for the Ghanaian, who has had to navigate treacherous waters in both the Ruby and Diamond Houses, following a massive fight with former love interest, Sulu.
Luckily the two buried the hatchet when Sulu told her: “When other people saw rubbish, you looked at me and saw something precious.” Before the dust had settled following her swap to the Diamond House on Friday, Selly and former flame, Nando, had a brawl of epic proportions.
Nevertheless, after all is said and done, the two gorgeous divas have a lot to be proud of. Reaching and exceeding The Chase’s halfway mark is no ordinary feat. – DStv.

How Africa voted
Here is how Africa voted this week, as we said goodbye to Natasha (Malawi) and Selly (Ghana).
Angola: Melvin
Botswana: Cleo
Ghana: Selly
Kenya: Annabel
Ethiopia: Natasha
Malawi: Natasha
Namibia: Melvin
Nigeria: Melvin
South Africa: Pokello
Sierra Leone: Melvin
Tanzania: Annabel
Uganda: Annabel
Zambia: Cleo
Zimbabwe: Pokello
Rest of Africa: Melvin
Total: Melvin = 5; Annabel = 3; Cleo = 2, Pokello = 2, Natasha = 2, Selly = 1. (Total: 15 Votes)
Please Note: The tie breaker rules were applied Pokello, Natasha and Cleo as they each had one popularity vote, the housemate with the lowest average percentage across all countries was Natasha. – DStv.

The mood was more than sombre in both the Ruby and Diamond Houses following Sunday night’s dramatic evictions.
As the reality of Natasha and Selly’s emotional departure slowly sunk in, the Chasemates all went into separate corners to try and wrap their minds around what had just happened.
Beverly found a quiet spot in the garden and was later joined by Bimp. The Nigerian looked dazed as she stared into space. After a long, drawn out silence, tears started streaming down her face. “I’m depressed and I’m so scared. This is too much. I’’m terrified of Nominating now”, she said. “Making the Save and Replace decision is the toughest,” Bimp said in solidarity.
Elikem, on the other hand, told Pokello how sad he is at Selly’s departure. “I’m really not ready to think about what just happened to Salome,” he said in a conversation with Zimbabwe’s Pokello. Pokello also shared her fears concerning next week’’s Evictions. “I’m feeling the pressure. People in this house want me so bad. They will start gunning for me without a doubt”, Pokello said.— DStv.

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The mood was more than sombre in both the Ruby and Diamond Houses following tonight’s dramatic Evictions.
As the reality of Natasha and Selly’s emotional departure slowly sunk in, the Chasemates all went into separate corners to try and wrap their minds around what had just happened.
Beverly found a quiet spot in the garden and was later joined by Bimp. The Nigerian looked dazed as she stared into space. After a long, drawn out silence, tears started streaming down her face. “I’m depressed and I’m so scared. This is too much. I’’m terrified of Nominating now”, She said. “Making the Save and Replace decision is the toughest”, Bimp said in solidarity.
Elikem, on the other hand, told Pokello how sad he is at Selly’s departure. “I’m really not ready to think about what just happened to Salome”, he said in a conversation with Zimbabwe’s Pokello. Pokello also shared her fears concerning next week’’s Evictions. “I’m feeling the pressure. People in this house want me so bad. They will start gunning for me without a doubt”, Pokello said.— DStv.