Zambian church groups said on Friday they had started collecting signatures to petition the government to withdraw Big Brother Africa (BBA), a reality TV show, from state television because it promotes ”immorality”.
”The public is invited to note that BBA is promoting immorality, indecency and dishonesty,” said a statement signed by several influential church bodies.
BBA is Africa’s first reality television show beamed out of South Africa via satellite.
Twelve contestants from different countries on the continent live together in one house where their communal behaviour is under constant camera surveillance.
At times housemates are glimpsed kissing, bathing and, recently, even having sex.
”It is a mockery of our high African cultural ideas.
Additionally, the lifestyle on display on BBA is a serious negation of generally desired behavioural change patterns in light of the HIV/Aids pandemic,” the statment said.
The church groups said the programme flew in the face of Zambia’s constitutionally enshrined position as a Christian country.
”Therefore, BBA must immediately be withdrawn from viewership on Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC),” the statement said.
ZNBC airs the Big Brother show every evening for thirty minutes.
Among the churches and groups spearheading the petition are the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia, the Christian Council of Zambia, the Pentecostal Assemblies of God and the Roman Catholic Church. – Sapa-AFP