Windhoek Online...By M'kos: 2013

Maria Nepembe (left) with Dillish Mathews just before leaving for South Africa
for The Chase 2013

The Chase is on. 91 days of confinement. All eyes on the much coverted US$300,000 (N$2,985,000). As they say, relationships will be broken, families separated, husband and wife shall sleep back on back, lessons shall be missed by the anxious student and there is only one explanation to it. This year's Big Brother is no other, it is THE CHASE!!!

Although Big Brother officially announced the 28 participants from the 14 African countries that the 'chosen ones' came from, bloodthirsty rumours had spread all around Windhoek on who the Namibian reps were going to be. The media was at the forefront of such snoopy & snitchy demeanor. As early as 20 May 2013, exactly five days prior to the official opening of the show, The Villager released an article spitefully entitled "Dirty Kandeshi in Big Brother" with reference to Maria Nepembe's nomination as a prospective participant in Africa's biggest reality show. When Maria Nepembe & Dillish Mathews were confronted by inquisitive journalists from this local daily newspaper, they both denied point blank that they had any plans to race in for Big Brother. Maria was also quoted as having said,“I am not going to BBA, I am just on suspension after I got into trouble at work, so I put in a long leave. Yes, i have heard the rumour about Big Brother but I can assure you i will only be back on radio on the 27th when my leave finishes.” Dillish was reported to have switched off her phone as soon as she was quizzed by info-seekers further raising suspicions of her participation. Their denial was in line with Biggie's Terms & Conditions as all participants were strictly warned against divulging information of their upcoming participation as this would have been regarded as 'gross espionage' by the producers of the show punishable by immediate dismissal.


Golden Glamour...Dillish & Maria surely know how to set tongues wagging.

How well do you know Dillish and Maria? It is very clear how much people don't know these two outside of the Big Brother walls and seriously, people can't be blamed for they have never really had exposure to such information. M'kos takes on a full investigation into their backgrounds, digging deep into university archives, previous news articles and information obtained from sources within their inner circle to bring you the very best of all there is to know about Dillish and Maria.

Maria Nepembe- dob 4 October 1988

7 year old Maria as a primary school pupil

With her birth certificate showing her full name as Maria Dhiginina Kauna Nepembe, she was born and bred in the Northern town of Ondangwa and she later moved on to Windhoek with her family at the age of 4 where she enrolled at Khomasdal Primary School for her basic education studies. At the tender age of 8, she lost her father and had to grow up with the pain of losing him before she actually got mature enough to know deeply about him. Thereafter she did her secondary education at David Bezuidenhout High School in Khomasdal. School records at this institution are well documented with her prowess in soccer and her active participation in the school choir. In an exclusive interview done by the New era newspaper she passes on a humorous account of her high-school life. "At High school, I was a tom boy, I played soccer and I was a good midfielder and played for Dawid Bezuidenhout Secondary School," she laughs.

The Rise To Success

Mariah enrolled at Unam, and two years down the line, decided to pack her bags and head for Germany. She joined the Au Pair programme as a domestic assistant from a foreign country working for, and living as part of, a host family. Typically, au pairs take on a share of the family's responsibility for childcare, as well as some housework, and receive a small monetary allowance for personal use. During her stay in Germany, she signed up with Mango Modelling Agency where she acknowledges that she gained invaluable experience necessary for forging a career in the fashion and modelling industry.

Upon her return, Mariah found herself on social circuit in Windhoek embracing her new found persona, Mariah would be seen on local catwalks and music videos. She was approached by Rose from Fresh FM after she was spotted on NBC television doing a promotion for a music video, which she was starred in by PDK. Surprised and amazed at the opportunity, she went to meet the boss and the rest is history. Maria recalls requiring a lot of concentration when she started as there was a lot to take but she pulled through.

"My brother entered me for the Miss Namibia pageant and I did it to please him. He had a good friend of mine, Torri, a very good photographer, to take pictures of me and submitted them. At first I did not give too much thought to everything but I was blown away when the organisers called me."

Maria catwalking for South African designer

Maria is a household name in the country. She has modelled for many of Namibia’s big fashion designers, such as Chakkira Claasen, Mc Bright Kavari, Kishwa, Amakeya, Modella, Nikola Conradie and David Tlale from South Africa. She has participated in beauty pageants such as Miss University Africa 2011 held in Bayelsa State Nigeria, where she was crowned 1^st runner-up, and Miss Namibia 2012, where she made it into the top five finalists. Maria is the ambassador for the Kiyola Media Group and the High Definition Hair Boutique. Travel News Namibia's website describes her as 'one of Namibia’s most influential people in the fashion and entertainment industry'. She is also actively involved in several charities, where she donates clothing to the homeless, and acts as a mentor to young troubled girls and those with low self-esteem. Maria is currently studying for a degree in Public Relations at the University of Namibia, where she recently completed a National Diploma. she is a DJ for a morning show at the well known Radio station Fresh FM and she has had extensive involvement in projects like The Candy Floss Show.

Big Brother Season 8

Maria (left) in Biggie's House

Maria Nepembe got involved in the 2013 edition of Big brother Africa, dubbed "The Chase", where she gained Africa-wide popularity for her stunning looks and the calm with which she handled herself through the trials and tribulations of her stay in the "Ruby" house. Maria entered Big Brother in the hope of getting exposure which she hoped would boost her broadcasting career and open up wider avenues for her to explore in her career as a model. On her brief biography posted on the Big Brother Africa website she promised viewers “a lot of blonde moments” and also said she will “be real”. The backward biography which has not yet been yet been updated at the time of publishing this article states that "If she wins the grand prize, she’ll buy a new car and pay off her house – and probably give the rest to charity." Oow, our girl surely has a heart that knows no bounds. Consideration for the less-priviledged seems to have been her number one concern since time immemorial.

Happy Moments in the Diary Room

Unfortunately at the end of week four, the worst happened to her. Along with Sierra Leone's Bolt, Maria was evicted from the House much to her surprise and anguish.Perhaps Bolt wasn't so surprised as he had known all week that he was up for possible eviction that night but for Maria, the story was quite different. A rather shocked Maria who had never been up for eviction looked on helplessly as the Diamond HOH for the week, Nando announced that he saved and replaced himself with Maria. Before the consequence of this switch could settle in, IK announced the eviction of our beautiful Namibian gem.

In her final 'bon voyage' words on BBA, Maria expressed her thoughts that Nando had put her up for eviction in his place because he didn’t know her that well and felt that Cleo & Hakeem’s relationship was real.

Maria with Sierra Leonne's Bolt on the Eviction night

News of her eviction plagued the nation of Namibia as hopes had been high that her chances of winning had been more than just marginally substantial. Perhaps the most saddening point was that non of the housemates had nominated her for eviction and if it had not been for Head of House's move she would still be in (We forgive you Nando...). Her facebook wall was filled with all sorts of posts carrying words of comfort and the local media e.g The Namibian daily, seemed quite sympathetic of her ordeal. Argument may be made about whether she was really going to scoop the US$300k but there is a general consensus held by all people that can be openly said without any doubt -she represented the colours of her flag with pride and honour.

Life After Biggie

Maria has returned on to her normal life after her stay in the House and she has resumed work at Fresh fm, hosting the morning shows. She is determined to complete her degree at the University of Namibia and has expressed her plans to divulge more into broadcasting once she finally arms herself with the honours degree.

With a great outlook on life, and positive mentality, it is no wonder this young lady has achieved so much at her young age. "Make yourself your number one priority instead of others and believe in yourself and your abilities. To my fellow women take pride in your beauty and self-worth and do not let any men walk over you," she signs off with these message to her fellow youth and women.

Back to work at Fresh Fm...

mwaah!

Dillish Matthews

The true definition of glamour

Unlike her counterpart Maria, Dillish is still relatively new in the entertainment industry but her progress thus far has been astonishing and predictions can be easily established that her way to the top is clear as the blue sky if she continues like this. Consequently deep background information on Dillish was not that easy to find but due to the great expertise and experience of the author in systematic approaches journalism, media information was carefully collected and analysed critically to reveal the lady behind the name 'Dillish Matthews'.

Dillish was born in Windhoek in 1991 and did her secondary education at Hochland High School where she excelled in her studies and held the 'Headgirl' position in her final year at the institution. Three years ago she registered with the University of Namibia for a four year Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and prior to her departure to RSA for participation in The Chase, she was undertaking her third year studies.

The Big Brother Africa official website describes her as 'a third year Psychology student with a passion for seafood'. In that same biography she describes herself as “caring, fun, troublesome, loving and adventurous”. Dillish says her best quality is the fact that she’s “very real and straightforward”. She values caring and considerate people and dislikes those who are selfish and lazy. Her grandfather is her role model. “He raised my mom and five of his grandchildren – including myself. He is my hero,” she says.

Success Story

Dillish first became widely known to the people of Namibia when she entered Miss University Africa last year (2012) and was crowned First Princess out of many contestants from 44 nations on the aAfrican continent despite the well known gossip column of the local newspaper called Pssst! having doubted her ability to compete on the international scene. Rorisang Molefe, an 18 year old Lesotho national scooped the Miss University Africa 2012 ahead of our own Dillish Mathews.

Dillish at the Miss University Beauty show in Nigeria

Tjuna Kauapirua, a very a close ally of Dillish commented on her blog TK's Blog on this achievement- "Dillish Mathews made us proud when we received the news that she had taken the 1st Princess crown at the Miss University Africa beauty pageant. She was described as an honest, smart & charismatic lady by one of the organisers of the prestigious event. She was also crowned as Miss Photogenic & Miss President award; need we say more?!! This lady has proven herself to be worthy of all the compliments. But media will be media and haters will be haters....eat that!"

Dillish put her entrepreneurial skills to task when she opened the 'High Definition Hair Boutique', an exclusive upmarket saloon located in the BPI House in Windhoek where her success story was further elevated. The saloon has been growing from strength to strength and has become popular with the ladies who usually frequent that place for an exceptional standard of service delivery.

An advert of Dillish's own business she runs in Windhoek

Dillish's contribution to society has been substantial despite the fact that she only rose to nation-wide fame pretty recently. In early 2013 she partnered up with radio and TV personality Nancy Muinjo, also known as Chi Chi for a campaign aimed at fighting breast cancer and raising awareness on issues affecting young women. It has been a great success and ha received attention from various stakeholders especially because many Namibian women still have little knowledge about breast cancer and rarely go for detective tests such as Pap smears.

Nancy Muinjo, a cancer survivor herself, has always maintained that the fight against cancer is something very close to her heart.

The cheerful radio presenter Nancy along with Dillish have in the past been involved in a number of activities by the Cancer Association of Namibia. As part of their campaign initiave, the pair held a photoshoot in the hopes of sensitizing Namibian women on the deadly disease.

Chi-Chi & Dillish at the Cancer Campaign Photo-shoot

According to those in the know the campaign isn’t solely about cancer, but about women empowerment in general. It really seems now that Namibian celebrities are putting their influence and popularity to good use in humanitarian community projects designed to enhance the quality of life of our citizens.

Big Brother Season 8

Our Lady expressed that she entered Big Brother because she has been a fan of the show for some time and promised herself that she would enter as soon as she was old enough. Dillish said it would be a bit scary to know that Africa will be watching her 24/7, but said she was excited to share her private life and lifestyle with the continent. Dillish is quoted as having said 'the best thing about Africa is the diverse cultures and “our unity”. Her favourite place in Namibia is Swakopmund and says even though she hasn’t travelled much, a trip to Nigeria last year for the Miss University Awards was “the best ever”.


A poster intended to boost support for Dillish

Dillish has been in the Diamond house and has been known to frequently complain about her separation from Maria who was then in the Ruby house prior to her eviction. Her stay in the house has not been without a few scratches of controversy as she had a altercation with the Kenyan Chasemate Huddah.

Huddah once opened up to Biggie what she thinks of Dillish. "She thinks that she is staying in a five star hotel. She just sleeps all day. She does absolutely nothing and expects us to cook for her," she complained.

In the BBA House

However, much to our relief Huddah was evicted from the house leaving our girl to shine on in the race for the US$300K without much hindrances. We can only hope as a nation that she avoids eviction and keep voting for her to make our nation proud as she did in Nigeria last year.

Negative Media Publicity

The owner and author of this popular Blog has heavily criticised the manner in which local media has handled Dillish's participation in the 'The Chase'. Perhaps the most vicious attacks have come from The Villager, a newspaper run paralell to ethical journalism and widely infamous for sensational reporting. To start with, on the @0th of May 2013, 5 days prior to the official opening of Big Brother Africa, the newspaper leaked critical information of the then alleged plot by Dillish to participate in BBA and went on a rampage quizzing her on whether such claims were true and the star had to switch off her phone to avoid such excessive nagging. T

Her career as a model keeps growing

The gruesome part of such an act was that under the Terms & Conditions of Big Brother, the contestants are not allowed to divulge any information of their involvement prior to the commencement of the official opening of the show. To make matters worse the journalists quizzing her where aware of this Term from Big Brother but still ventured on to get that critical piece of information from her. Luckily for her, she never conformed to their requests.

When Dillish shared a kiss with Zimbabwean Chasemate Hakeem, not many people found anything out of the ordinary for such a stunt she pulled, well, except the news team at The Villager. In an article that suggests from the title that the article will focus on the kiss, the writer strangely diverts from the focal point of his/her story and starts attacking the Chasemate ruthlessly.

Lip Lock--a screenshot of Hakeem and Dillish

The following is an excerpt from the main article entitled "Dillish Locks Lips in BBA House" written by Linekela Halwoodi and published on the 3rd of June 2013 in The Villager.

"She is known as a socialite, she has done work as a model, she has also appeared in music videos and has worked a long side her best friend as a ring girl.
The Villager does not even know what the girl’s real name is, Dillish or as they call her now Dellish Mathews is all we can identify her as, or Izinyoka’s girlfriend and most of all, she is known as Dirty Kandeshi’s best friend and partner in crime.
A 22 year old psychology student from UNAM who is dating some of the most powerful leaders in Namibian entertainment.
Unlike her compatriot Maria, who is a model turned music video vixen turned radio present, now recently a public relations officer: we do not know what Dillish has done to end up in Big Brother Africa.
We might not know who is she is but she has her boyfriends blessings who posted on his Facebook wall about letting her go to Big Brother despite the criticism the first day the girls got into the house."

The contents of this letter are very disturbing and instead of working towards garnering support for the Namibia represantative all hell breaks loose on her model's personality. How Dillish private affairs ended up in such an article is unknown? The way stories of her private life in windhoek have been intertwined in this story only serves to prove that the writer had adverse intentions.

Proud Wambo girl

Conclusion

Anyway Dillish will still move on (We are going to make sure she does) and ultimately achieve her dreams of sitting at the top of the entrepreneurial world nomatter what opinions against her may be fabricated. We hope she takes her strides carefully in The Chase and that, with the support of the masses she makes it to day 91.

The author hopes readers have found this article very informative and entertaining about the lives of Maria and Dillish.

Keep supporting the Windhoek Online Blog, the most popular Blog thus far that educates and entertains all ages, all people from all walks of life. Peace...

M'kos 2013 (c)