How Big Brother Mzansi’s season five racked up more than 200 million votes in its final week

Whether you’re a fan of the reality show Big Brother Mzansi or not, the show had a noticeable presence on social media and record-breaking voting numbers.

The recently wrapped up season five of the show recorded the most votes in the final week, with an estimated 293 million votes cast. This represents a 330% increase from the vote tally at the season 4 finale.

“The success of Big Brother Mzansi Season 5 is a testament to the power of reality TV in Mzansi,” said Director of Local Entertainment Channels – M-Net, Shirley Adonisi.

According to the broadcaster, Big Brother Mzansi was the most watched show on DStv Stream in Southern Africa.

Sweet Guluva was the eventual winner of the season, taking home the R2 million cash prize.

The reality show also saw success across social media platforms, garnering 1.1 billion impressions and a total of 302 million mentions on X.

“We are excited to see such outstanding engagement from viewers and the record-breaking votes are proof of how invested Mzansi is in the show,” expressed Adonisi.

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Felt on the streets

The show’s impact wasn’t limited to the virtual world. After Sweet Guluva’s win, his fans took to the streets in celebration.

Fan favourite Sweet Guluva, whose real name is Akhonamathemba Mbele, received more than half of the votes (53.49%) to win the finale.

Following the 23-year-old Capetonian’s win, throngs of fans, many of them women, took to the streets to celebrate his victory.

Throughout the season, Sweet Guluva trended on social media, with his fans constantly campaigning for him. However, this didn’t sit right with everyone.

Media personality Somizi Mhlongo was so annoyed by Sweet Guluva’s fans that he called them out for their overenthusiasm.

“Sweet Guluva’s people, some of us don’t watch Big Brother, we don’t watch it. Now we know of Sweet Guluva because you’re annoying us in the comments section,” said Mhlongo in a video on TikTok.

@somg63

♬ original sound – somizi

Unaware of who Sweet Guluva is, Somizi said his fans’ overzealousness would ruin his chances of winning.

“You are ruining his or her chances because you’re annoying now. Honestly, you’re annoying. You’re like those who say, ‘I used to be this and this to sister so-and-so for helping me.’ You are messing up the chances of Sweet Guluva of yours because we cannot deal with the fact that every time we post, you’re forcing us to vote for this Sweet Guluva of yours.

“Sweet Guluva will end up not winning because of you. Stop it, in my comments [section] stop it,” Mhlongo said.

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