Itai Makumbe, Zimbabwe’s Big Brother Revolution housemate, was evicted from the TV reality series at the weekend as the show reaches the home stretch.
The eviction, which had been long coming, was no surprise to many as Itai was virtually a lone ranger in the house who hopped from one alliance to the other, a strategy that only saved him for a couple weeks but obviously could not guarantee him longevity.
This means Zimbabwe will join the rest of the countries whose housemates were evicted in the previous weeks to try and see who actually takes home the US$200 000.
Overall, the Masters Degree student in peace and governance did not only lack a good strategy, but was also weak both inside and outside the house.
Usually a strong character is the one who is popular outside the house and no matter how many times he is put up for eviction, they survive.
Big Brother fans vividly remember Ricco from Angola who was last year’s winner.
At first Zimbabwean fans were betrayed by Kristal and now it was Itai who threw away the nation’s hopes of clinching the big one by his futile "silent assassin" strategy.
He spent most of his time moving from one camp to the next with the hope of making friends between alliances yet he was creating many enemies.
However, time ran out for him and the net closed in as the other housemates saw him for what he was, a two-faced character.
It is against this backdrop that Itai, of all the male housemates, had the most fights with female housemates.
He had issues with Geraldine, Emma, Elizabeth and recently Mzamo.
But one would forgive Itai, as he appeared to be the biggest threat to every housemate in the house because he was more intelligent than the rest of the group.
Perhaps this is why a lot of the housemates felt challenged when it came to the mental aspect of the show.
So as Itai walked out of the revolution house, he was all smiles knowing his time was up. He even knew the people who had put him up for eviction, including his former comrade-in-arms Nkenna.
In an interview with host of the show IK, Itai admitted that his experience in the house would make him a better politician.
Asked why he had fights with the female housemates, Itai said it was because of the conspiracies in the house.
"I have no idea, it could be the conspiracies or maybe natural — I don’t know," he said.
Turning to the heated argument with Mzamo, Itai revealed it had to do with Mzamo’s ex-boyfriend.
"She (Mzamo) told me that I looked like someone who hurt her before."
An elated Itai also reaffirmed his commitment to settle down with his girlfriend Tsitsi, who was part of the crowd that attended the live eviction show.
Itai walked away with US$2 899 courtesy of Big Brother in a lively eviction show that was screened on M-Net channel 198.
It is just a week before the crowning of Big Brother Revolution winner.
The remaining housemates are Edward (Namibia), Kevin (Nigeria), Mzamo (Malawi), Emma (Angola) and Nkenna (Nigeria). (The Herald)