Priest prays for Ugandan eviction

Controversy continues to stalk the Big Brother Africa reality TV programme, with a Ugandan pastor turning to prayer to try and hasten the eviction of his own country's participant.

Pastor Timothy Sekyanzi of the Church of Jesus Christ has described the programme as "immoral", according to Uganda's Monitor newspaper.

He says that Ugandan participant Gaetano Kaggwa's eviction this week would be the only way to discourage Ugandans from watching the Big Brother Africa programme.

"My appeal to those people who oppose Gaetano's participation is to join me and we pray hard so that he is evicted from the house".

"This will stop our people, especially the youth from watching the show. We shall have saved them from being eaten up by immorality," Pastor Sekyanzi says.

The TV show has proved a massive hit amongst young urban Africans in many countries across the continent.

But it was taken off the air in Malawi after the country's parliament condemned it as immoral.

Romancing

The programme has also been condemned in Zambia and Namibia, with political and religious leaders complaining that some of the footage broadcast was too explicit.

The programme originally featured 12 contestants, each from a different African country, locked together inside the Big Brother house.

Pastor Sekyanzi is particularly unhappy at romantic scenes involving Gaetano and the South African participant in the Big Brother Africa, Ms Abby Plaatjes.

The pastor argues that it would be unfortunate if Gaetano won the $100,000 Big Brother Africa prize after engaging in such "ungodly acts".

Apart from the condemnation over sexual content, the show has been praised for bridging cultural gaps and exploding some of the myths contestants share about fellow Africans.

The South African made show is broadcast on satellite television as well as on many African state television stations.