Big Brother Africa: Goodbye, Gentle Giant

HE spent 28 days in the Big Brother Africa house, survived one possible eviction and did it without sacrificing his values.

Sooner or later though, his non-participation was bound to get him noticed for all the wrong reasons and last Sunday, Kenya’s Jeff became the second housemate to walk through those garden gates and back into the real world. He was something of a reserved character; some would say he was just plain boring, but the Gentle Giant endeared himself to more than a few viewers across the continent with his shy, awkward charm.The 23-year-old, published author of ‘Religion is Fiction’ was known for his strange brand of early morning exercises – which more closely resembled a flopping fish out of water, his love of food and his highly competitive nature during tasks.NATASHA UYS conducted a brief telephonic interview with Jeff shortly after his eviction.What was your main motivation for entering Big Brother Africa 2? I wanted to market myself, promote my country and promote African issues in general.Also, one of the main reasons I entered is because I am a novelist.As a novelist I am constantly observing people and making mental notes for my future fictional characters.I see it as research.At times in the house, you were very quiet.Would you say that you are a shy person? People tend to think I’m shy but I’m actually really an observant person.People often misdefine me.I guess it is just my artistic side that makes me seem shy when I am actually busy studying people.Your daily exercises drew a lot of attention from the housemates and viewers alike.What role does exercise play in your life? Well, I have been exercising seriously for over five years now.Firstly I do it for a positive self-image and secondly to relieve stress and irritation.I find that it helps to keep me calm, composed and confident.Exercising daily in the house gave me that extra peace of mind which the other housemates perhaps did not have.You usually went to bed pretty early and did not party much with the other housemates.Why? I don’t drink much at all and I am used to waking up at a certain time every day.I usually wake up at 04h00 or 05h00 and I found that I needed to get a good night’s rest in order to perform at my peak during the tasks that Big Brother set for us.You are a very well travelled person.Why didn’t you share your life experiences with other housemates more? I now realise that I did not interact with the other housemates as much as I could have but at the time I found what other people were saying very interesting.Although we were presented with a task where we each had to let the rest of the housemates know more about our lives.I really enjoyed that task because I had the opportunity to let the housemates know who I am and where I come from.Who did you dislike the most and why? Well it is very difficult to answer that because I look at each and every person holistically.I see their positive and negative points as part of their characters.Each one of the housemates was very intelligent and good natured but that said, there were a few housemates who did manage to step on my toes a little bit.I think from day one, Bertha and I just did not get along.I found her comments, especially the ones directed towards me, to be very sarcastic.Lerato irritated me a little but at the end of the day I still appreciated the fact that I had the opportunity to stay in the house and study the housemates.You mentioned that you had a slight connection with Tatiana.What do you think is really going on between Richard and Tatiana? Now that I am out of the house, I have a better picture of what is going on between the two of them.When I was in the house I did not get to see what they were up to as much.I had a conversation with them last weekend about their relationship but they maintained that they were strictly friends.I think that Richard is a very extravagant character, he is easily swayed and he is simply exploiting their relationship for pleasure purposes.As for Tatiana, I think that she is more manipulative.She is being strategic in her relationship with Richard.Viewers have referred to you as the Gentle Giant but both Code and Bertha expressed their opinion that you had anger issues.Do you think you have a violent temper? No, I don’t think I have issues with my temper.I love playing sports and competing in tasks and that is the only time that my passion could have been regarded as violent.I guess you could say that I am a very passionate person and that I am emotionally driven, especially when it comes to sports.I don’t think it’s a problem.In fact I think it’s a positive trait.Bertha and Code mistook my competitiveness for aggressiveness.What or who did you miss the most while you were inside the house? I missed my brother Steven and my sister Patricia the most but then again, I entered the house for a specific purpose and I did not allow my emotions to interfere with my goal in the house.I went in there to play and game and win, not to miss the outside world.What are your plans for the future? Well the next couple of weeks are going to be filled with plenty of media interviews and promotional activities.I really just want to make the most of every opportunity, spend time with my family and friends and enjoy my eviction party.In the long term, I would like to promote my follow-up novels and take the opportunity to write more.Also as an entrepreneur, I would like to create business opportunities to benefit Kenyans in general.What did you learn about yourself through this experience? I learned that I need to work very hard at always keeping a positive attitude.There were times in the house that it was very challenging, especially when I realised that Meryl had replaced me with Bertha for possible eviction.Who would you like to see win? I think there are 10 housemates who all have a fantastic chance of winning.But there are a few that I think should win, Maxwell because he has a very big heart – especially for children and the less fortunate.Ofunneka because she is a very loving person and Tatiana because she has a good strategy and a warm heart.Do you have any regrets? Yes.I would have loved to stay longer and take the money home.If I had the chance to do it again I would have changed my strategy.I have realised that the housemates want someone to interact with, someone to party with.I would have partied more but still kept my dignity.* BBA can be seen 24-7 on Channel 37, DStv.He was something of a reserved character; some would say he was just plain boring, but the Gentle Giant endeared himself to more than a few viewers across the continent with his shy, awkward charm.The 23-year-old, published author of ‘Religion is Fiction’ was known for his strange brand of early morning exercises – which more closely resembled a flopping fish out of water, his love of food and his highly competitive nature during tasks.NATASHA UYS conducted a brief telephonic interview with Jeff shortly after his eviction. What was your main motivation for entering Big Brother Africa 2? I wanted to market myself, promote my country and promote African issues in general.Also, one of the main reasons I entered is because I am a novelist.As a novelist I am constantly observing people and making mental notes for my future fictional characters.I see it as research.At times in the house, you were very quiet.Would you say that you are a shy person? People tend to think I’m shy but I’m actually really an observant person.People often misdefine me.I guess it is just my artistic side that makes me seem shy when I am actually busy studying people.Your daily exercises drew a lot of attention from the housemates and viewers alike.What role does exercise play in your life? Well, I have been exercising seriously for over five years now.Firstly I do it for a positive self-image and secondly to relieve stress and irritation.I find that it helps to keep me calm, composed and confident.Exercising daily in the house gave me that extra peace of mind which the other housemates perhaps did not have.You usually went to bed pretty early and did not party much with the other housemates.Why? I don’t drink much at all and I am used to waking up at a certain time every day.I usually wake up at 04h00 or 05h00 and I found that I needed to get a good night’s rest in order to perform at my peak during the tasks that Big Brother set for us.You are a very well travelled person.Why didn’t you share your life experiences with other housemates more? I now realise that I did not interact with the other housemates as much as I could have but at the time I found what other people were saying very interesting.Although we were presented with a task where we each had to let the rest of the housemates know more about our lives.I really enjoyed that task because I had the opportunity to let the housemates know who I am and where I come from.Who did you dislike the most and why? Well it is very difficult to answer that because I look at each and every person holistically.I see their positive and negative points as part of their characters.Each one of the housemates was very intelligent and good natured but that said, there were a few housemates who did manage to step on my toes a little bit.I think from day one, Bertha and I just did not get along.I found her comments, especially the ones directed towards me, to be very sarcastic.Lerato irritated me a little but at the end of the day I still appreciated the fact that I had the opportunity to stay in the house and study the housemates.You mentioned that you had a slight connection with Tatiana.What do you think is really going on between Richard and Tatiana? Now that I am out of the house, I have a better picture of what is going on between the two of them.When I was in the house I did not get to see what they were up to as much.I had a conversation with them last weekend about their relationship but they maintained that they were strictly friends.I think that Richard is a very extravagant character, he is easily swayed and he is simply exploiting their relationship for pleasure purposes.As for Tatiana, I think that she is more manipulative.She is being strategic in her relationship with Richard.Viewers have referred to you as the Gentle Giant but both Code and Bertha expressed their opinion that you had anger issues.Do you think you have a violent temper? No, I don’t think I have issues with my temper.I love playing sports and competing in tasks and that is the only time that my passion could have been regarded as violent.I guess you could say that I am a very passionate person and that I am emotionally driven, especially when it comes to sports.I don’t think it’s a problem.In fact I think it’s a positive trait.Bertha and Code mistook my competitiveness for aggressiveness.What or who did you miss the most while you were inside the house? I missed my brother Steven and my sister Patricia the most but then again, I entered the house for a specific purpose and I did not allow my emotions to interfere with my goal in the house.I went in there to play and game and win, not to miss the outside world.What are your plans for the future? Well the next couple of weeks are going to be filled with plenty of media interviews and promotional activities.I really just want to make the most of every opportunity, spend time with my family and friends and enjoy my eviction party.In the long term, I would like to promote my follow-up novels and take the opportunity to write more.Also as an entrepreneur, I would like to create business opportunities to benefit Kenyans in general.What did you learn about yourself through this experience? I learned that I need to work very hard at always keeping a positive attitude.There were times in the house that it was very challenging, especially when I realised that Meryl had replaced me with Bertha for possible eviction.Who would you like to see win? I think there are 10 housemates who all have a fantastic chance of winning.But there are a few that I think should win, Maxwell because he has a very big heart – especially for children and the less fortunate.Ofunneka because she is a very loving person and Tatiana because she has a good strategy and a warm heart.Do you have any regrets? Yes.I would have loved to stay longer and take the money home.If I had the chance to do it again I would have changed my strategy.I have realised that the housemates want someone to interact with, someone to party with.I would have partied more but still kept my dignity.* BBA can be seen 24-7 on Channel 37, DStv.