Prezzo loses jackpot but wins Kenyans’ hearts

By Allan Olingo

He may not have won the Big Brother Star Game prize, but Kenyan rapper Jackson Makini a.k.a Prezzo could be the biggest beneficiary of the competition after he was named the One Campaign Ambassador during the night that saw South Africa’s representative win.

The competitor from South Africa, Keegan, who beat the other five finalists — Lady May from Namibia, Wati from Malawi, Kyle from Uganda, Talia from Zambia and Prezzo — clinched the $300,000 (Sh24 million) cash prize.

Tense moment
During the finals held in Johannesburg, South Africa, where the competition took place, Wati was the first to be evicted in a tense moment announced by the host Ike. Kyle was next to be evicted followed by Talia, who until the finals was quite close to Keegan.

With about 300 people watching the show in the Big Brother house in South Africa, among them Prezzo’s mother, an aunt and uncle, it was unnerving as the moment of truth came with just Prezzo, Keegan and Lady May, all strong contenders with mass followings from Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

The game turned into a two-horse affair when Lady May was evicted, leaving Prezzo and  Keegan to fight it out for the ultimate price.

The battle lines were drawn inside the auditorium as chants of Prezzo and Keagan reigned. Flags from the two countries flapped across the venue.

A room away, Prezzo and Keagan remained restless. They walked up and down anxiously.
Through the big screens, Prezzo’s mother watched her son agonising and let her emotions win in a torrent of tears.

She knew what the moment meant to her only son, the controversial rapper whose career has dwindled in the last two years. “I am grateful that he showed the whole world that he has a strong will and a caring heart. I am proud of him,” she said minutes after the winner was declared.

The night, however, belonged to Keegan, 22, whose life, just like Prezzo’s, has been full of twists and turns.

Keagan left home two years ago and went to the United States to seek odd jobs after his parents wrote him off. He once worked as a bartender.

“I have never watched the show. I just came back to the country. I will see what I will do with the money once the whole issue settles in my mind,” an ecstatic Keagan said.

Despite not having a chance of becoming head of house to save himself the many times he was nominated, Prezzo survived all the evictions because of the votes he garnered across Africa that allowed him to continue staying at the house.

Second best
Prezzo is the first Kenyan representative to get to the finals in the Big Brother Africa reality show. The other Kenyan representatives to this 7th edition of Big Brother Africa were Alex and Malonza, who were evicted early on.

Prezzo proved pundits wrong by not only making it to the final six but also dominating the competition and becoming the second best overall.

“I thank God for his grace and granting me an opportunity to show Africa who I am. I owe this huge victory to my fans. God bless all my fans across Africa,” Prezzo said, soon after he was handed over the good news that he is the new One Campaign ambassador.

As ambassador, Prezzo will work the campaigns co-founder Paul David Hewson a.k.a Bono, Mary J Blige and Nas, among others in an effort to alleviate hunger in Africa and fight extreme poverty.

“I am excited that I will now meet my icon Bono. I am actually happy that I can make more than the Sh24 million through these connections,” an excited Prezzo told The Standard.

— Additional reporting by Stevens Muendo in Johanesburg