It was the moment that everyone had been waiting for as they asked 'who would be the last man/woman standing'?
And it was Makhosazane Twala, Khosi to her legions of fans. Loud cheers broke out when her name was called out as the winner of Big Brother Titans at the Joburg watch party.
Most people had been rooting for her as she was the last woman standing for South Africa in the Big Brother house.
For ten weeks while everyone was falling in love with her spiciness on the TV screens though, her parents were missing her.
Khosi’s mother, Phumzile, says, “I missed having her reprimand everyone whenever she was at home in Newcastle [KwaZulu-Natal].”
For Khosi’s father, Mzwakhe, “mavovo” is the one thing he missed having Khosi buy for him. Mavovo is the name they use to mean beer bottles.
Even with their hearts yearning for their daughter’s presence, watching Big Brother Titans was a proud moment for them.
Speaking to Drum about how she felt when she saw her daughter on TV for the first time, Khosi’s mother says, “I was so excited that I even made a braai and invited our family and relatives. The Mbathas and Twalas came together to celebrate her.”
“I was watching her from breakfast time till sunset,” her father adds.
Read More | Meet the 20 Big Brother Titans housemates who will be giving you wahala for the next 3 months
Sundays had become the worst days for them because she was always nominated for eviction and that kept the family on edge.
At times, what they would watch wouldn’t be all too pleasant. They both felt like yanking Khosi from the house because of what she was going through.
“We saw and heard things that she didn’t, and she didn’t deserve the bad things they said. My heart broke every time she cried in the house especially when she broke down after wondering out loud if she was loved by people outside since people didn’t like her in the house,” says her mother.
During these moments, Phumzile did not think the competition was worth it. But after being in a room with strangers who chanted her daughter’s name non-stop, she was left speechless.
The love that she was receiving was unbelievable to her.
When Khosi left for the Big Brother house, she had a conversation with her mother about quitting her job as a journalist to pursue reality tv. While trying to wrap her head around it, Khosi’s mother was not all too welcoming of the idea as she saw it as not only a risk but as an exposure to “izinto ezinga lunganga [ungodly things]”.
Although she had told her to not engage in such, Phumzile would remember her daughter’s words when she saw her engage in some of them.
“Mama, I want to go explore. What I will do in the house, I want it to be valuable and fruitful. Everyday, there must be something that I do in there that makes people talk about me, I can’t be too closed off and quiet because I can’t succeed,” she recalls Khosi’s words.
Now that she has won the competition, the mother of six says “ever since she was born, Khosi has never not wanted to succeed in anything. She always wants to come out victorious in everything she does.”
In the crowd of people cheering ecstatically, was one of Khosi’s friends who had been behind the camera, shooting Khosi’s audition video. They both entered the competition but only Khosi made it through.
Sibusiso Hlongwane tells Drum that “Khosi has shared her dreams with me. I know them all. I know how much she wanted to be independent and have money. Her language has always been money.”
“She has entered so many pageant competitions in hopes that she will win so that she can have money to help at home, grow herself as an independent black woman and as a brand too and help the less fortunate as she can relate to them, coming from an underprivileged home and society,” he adds.
Read More | Big Brother Mzansi's Themba Broly has a new reality show coming
She entered the competition because “she has always been a fan of the show growing up. She loves the idea of being followed by cameras and taking video reels and showing people her lifestyle, her interests and what she’s on about in life.” And that’s how she got half a million followers on TikTok where she documents her life.
For her other friend, Thabiso Mthembu, who led a chant song after the winner announcement, Khosi’s participation in the competition taught him patience and living in the moment.
“It takes so much patience for you to stay so long in one place. I learned that no matter what people may do to you, just be kind. There were times whereby she knew that people (other housemates) were wronging her but she would always approach them with a smile.”
When he sees her for the first time in 10 weeks, the first thing he says he’ll do is give her the biggest hug.
