Cherise is the last to walk

Cherise Makubale has won the African version of Big Brother, the program that proved far more popular with the public than with outraged politicians and church leaders in her native Zambia.

The 24-year old burst into tears after a phone-in vote from across Africa confirmed her as the winner of the contest, making her $100,000 dollars richer.

The spritely Makubale, a procurement officer from the northern Zambian town of Kitwe, was the last person to walk out of the "Big Brother House" in Johannesburg, where 12 contestants have been living for the last 106 days.

Mwisho Mwampamba, a 22-year-old man from Tanzania was the runner-up.

An estimated 30-million people in 46 countries tuned in every day to watch the contestants in the Big Brother home, where every move - including the moderately raunchy "shower hour" - was broadcast live via a satellite pay-per-view channel, as well as on free channels in at least nine countries.

Makubale, who was named in Sunday papers as a firm favourite, was too overcome by emotion to speak directly after she learned eager viewers in Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia had crowned her African queen of reality television.

But she later told AFP: "I'm still almost too excited to talk.

"The money means a great deal to me and my family and will help a lot in getting our lives together. So far we have had a hard life.

"I want to go home now and discuss what to do with it with my family. But the one thing that I'm definitely going to do is to buy my self-employed father, who works as an electrician, a house," she said, making good on a promise she made to housemates during the show.

Like the original reality TV show, which proved a big hit in Britain, Germany and the Netherlands, Big Brother Africa drew a huge following.

But the show came in for sharp criticism from the political and religious elite on the continent.

In Malawi, politicians yanked the daytime broadcast, Nigerian and Namibian officials threatened action and church leaders in Zambia started a petition demanding the "immoral" show be taken off the air.

"I would like to call on the Namibian Broadcasting Authority to stop showing this so-called Big Brother and to start showing the history of Namibia," Namibian President Sam Nujoma was quoted as saying on the Big Brother website.

But Makubale said she saw no harm in the show: "To me it was just a game. In the end I had a tremendous amount of fun."

On Sunday, Brenda Fassie and Nigerian Afrobeat superstar Femi Kuti entertained the crowds, who roared in approval every time the name of another evictee was announced.

Also present was Cameron Stout, the winner of Big Brother Britain, who had spent a week in the home during a swap in the competition with an African contestant.

Makubale emerged from the house to roaring applause, before walking over to a massive green safe, which had to be opened with an angle-grinder in a shower of sparks, before a silver suitcase of money was chained and locked to her arm.