Justice : Little man, huge ambition…

1st Big Brother Africa evictee, Justice Motlhabani, agreed to answer a few of our questions away from his busy uni schedule.

UFW: *Dolphin from CT wants to know: Did your live change after your eviction from the house, and if so, to what extent?

My life has been hectic since my eviction. I have done a bit of my country tour, I’m currently doing products promotion for several companies and if I find time I make celebrity appearance at parties and events. There is so much to do now. I have also become more responsible because a lot of people know me. I was surprised when I learnt of some of the people who used to follow the show religiously – especially here at my university, professors in different departments, big and small people here at my university now recognize me and this has made me wake up to the realization that I need to be more responsible and accountable for all my actions. I’m even in the process of doing a research paper on Big Brother with some lectures here at UB. The reception here at UB has been phenomenal.

UFW: Are you being bombarded by fans on a daily basis, asking for your autograph or has your life normalized somewhat back to before you were known all over Africa and the world?

I’m not bombarded by fans, but more often than not a car stops in my street and people come out to greet me.people just come to me when they see me This happens a lot! Sometimes and we start to chit-chat. I was shocked when some people recognized me last week when I was flying from Bangkok to Johannesburg. I didn’t have any problem when flying in and no one knew about me during my whole stay there. It was such a shock when I left starting right in Bangkok. Another interesting incident was during my connection in Ethiopia – while I was waiting for my flight to Jo’burg in Addis Ababa a young lady came to me and asked me if she saw me on Idols I said ‘no ‘ and laughed my lungs out. I didn’t think anyone would know me that far from home. Sometimes it’s difficult to believe that the show was this massive. But I would really like it for my life to normalise so that I can continue with my other activities without much public attention – on the other hand I understand that I took a risk and that it comes with the territory.

UFW: *Dolphin from CT wants to know: Congratulations on your contract to go to Hong Kong. That is quite something. Not even the BBAII winner managed to land such a contract. Any other big plans and signed deals for the immediate future?

Not any yet! Thanks for asking- I had such a great time in Hong Kong, China is the most amazing place in the world. The nature of my life is that challenges and opportunities always come my way– so I’m sure inevitably something huge should happen.

UFW: What goals have you set for yourself and are hoping to achieve in this New Year?

My goal for this year is to develop debate among high school students here in Botswana and possibly in neighboring countries. I want to help foster leadership, critical thinking and civic engagement among young people in my country. I’m planning to organize the Botswana Schools Debating Championships in March involving all schools in Botswana and will take the top speakers in the country to the African Schools Debating Championships in S.A in May and ultimately to the World Schools Debating Championships in DC in September.

UFW: Are you involved with someone at the moment or are you playing the field?

I’m involved with my studies and debating – if there are any beautiful women out there who love debating they should get in touch with me.

UFW: Have you still been in contact with your ex-housemates?

Yep. Lerato called me very early on the morning of the 17th which happened to be my Birthday. It was such a huge surprise and so special. I’m sure she wanted to be the first to say happy birthday because she called at the crack of dawn. I have also been in contact with Tatiana, Code, Ofunneka, Maureen, Richard/Ricki and Jeff. We discussed the crisis in Kenya with Jeff this past week. Though he was not directly affected his home town of Kisumi was in turmoil he said people went on a looting spree and the police on a shooting spree. I hope the leaders there will be able to find a common ground soon because so may lives have been lost.

UFW: Why do you think you were the first to be evicted from the house? The week leading up to the eviction when you went into the bathroom and threw the other housemates’ towels and underwear onto the floor, as you proceeded to sit in the corner in an almost upright fetal position, was this a strategy on your part for the public to keep you in (sympathy) or did you honestly want to go home?

I wanted out! The show was becoming a bit too immoral for me. The conversations had started to be boring and I felt that I had run my race. There was nothing to learn at that point in time, nothing at all that added to my personal development. I had concluded that there was nothing more to learn and that being there any longer would be a waste of 3 months of my life. It was time to go home. I’m still proud of myself that I was brave enough to be the first to leave. Jeff was scared to death that night.

UFW: Should you have the chance to do Big Brother again – perhaps Big Brother Africa Celebrity – what would you do differently to ensure that you stay in the house longer and possibly win that series?

I don’t think I would do it again, but just to answer your questions and for argument sake – if Tatiana is part of the show and I’m married by then I would hook up with her and do the things Richard did to her, you know, form some sort of Justiana and spice it up. I figured that’s all you have to do to win, the viewers love that sort of thing.

UFW: *Dolphin from CT wants to know: Are you still living in your home town or did you move to Gaborone?

I moved to Gaborone in 2004 and I have been living here ever since.

UFW: Any plans regarding hosting another party where you can invite Richard, Tatiana, Code, Maureen and Ofunneka this time?

I’m currently really busy with school. My goal is to finish my degree this year and immediately go for my masters. I want to take a break from all the partying and drinking. I have had a lot of parties in the past few months. If I get a chance I will definitely invite them over maybe when I’m on holiday in May, provided I’m not doing any debate training or workshops.

UFW: Have you and Meryl managed to patch things up after the ‘bottle’ incident?

Me and Meryl are cool. The bottle incident is water under the bridge.

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