Big Brother Naija housemate Khafilat Kareem (Khafi) has continued to rock the house romping with fellow housemate Ekpata Gedoni. Fortuitously, the Brit police officer, among other eight housemates, is up for possible eviction on Sunday, even as she faces disciplinary action from Met Police U.K. for appearing on the show without permission. Ferdinand Ekechukwu reports.
When Big Brother Naija contestant Khafilat kareem (Khafi) entered the ongoing television reality show for the prize money, about N30 million (£68,000), it was clear for sure that the Ekiti State native, who resides in London, made known her position as a British police officer but not to the knowledge of the public and perhaps the organisers of the show, that her participation is without prior permission of her bosses at Metropolitan Force.
Reports of Khafi’s participation and making out on the reality show with fellow housemate Ekpata Gedoni, 31, however has become a major topic of discussion in the UK media which also got on the local media back home in Nigeria and also on social media. The couple had become intimate four times in the house already. The 29-year-old Met Police officer who earns about £30,000 a year became a trending issue, after the authorities announced they were investigating her for having sex on the show despite warning from her bosses not to take part.
The issues made it to Sky News as presenters discussed it live on television amid reports of her getting sacked. In the show, the presenters said having sex is not an issue but leaving without permission and probably becoming pregnant from sex on the show might be the bigger challenge for her. BBC London also did an entire segment about Khafi and her participation in the Big Brother Naija.
An unnamed colleague told The Sun UK where the story first broke: “She’s a serving British police officer – it’s outrageous. She asked permission to go on the show but, when her request was refused, she went anyway.” The former bit-part actress and shop assistant Khafi joined the Met as a police constable based at Lambeth Station in 2015 after working part-time as a special constable for four years.
She was inspired to sign up after a 16-year-old pal was stabbed to death but has spoken out against police stop-and-search tactics. Khafi was pictured with Met Commissioner Cresida Dick and other female officers celebrating 100 years of women in the Met last November. Khafi was also once a ‘poster girl’ for the promotion of female and black staff. But she was said to have been moved after clashes with colleagues.
After being granted unpaid leave, she asked to go on Nigeria’s Big Brother but her request was refused. Nonetheless, pictures appeared on websites promoting Big Brother Naija: Pepper Dem showing the PC in her uniform while she is billed as a talented dancer and singer. Publicity material says: “Police officer Khafi Kareem believes that you can have it all if you believe in yourself. She is not only hoping to win the prize money but she wants the exposure that being in Big Brother Naija House brings so that she can do societal good.”
While the police officer continues to rock the Big Brother Pepper Dem gang romping with Gedoni, her sexcapades shouldn’t be an issue after all as both couple conscientiously consented to their romance in the house. Khafi on entering the house had told the host Ebuka that she’s open to relationship.
Besides, her brief has it that she gets irritated mostly by other people “When they try to control me or suppress me from expressing myself freely.” More of it declared that she could only quit the Big Brother house game “If I was forced to something sexual in the Big Brother Naija house.” So, obviously she’s pretty much aware of her choice and merely expressing her innate feelings as an adult. Her bunking partner, Gedoni, who is a fashion entrepreneur, boasts of “genuine and charming personality”.
While their romance has viewers gripped, fortuitously, Khafi, among other eight housemates, is up for possible eviction. At the Monday night eviction show, Team ‘Cruisetopia’ won the challenge which automatically put all members of the losing ‘Team Icons’ (Cindy, Elozonam, Enkay, Frodd, Ike, Joe, Khafi, Omashola and Tacha) up for possible Eviction. Diane however had to use her power to save and replace a housemate.
She saved her friend Sir Dee from the ‘Icon’ team and replaced him with Joe from the winning team, putting him in the list of those up for Eviction. Of all the housemates nominated for possible eviction, Tacha has a stronger lead. Her fans on social media have been unrelenting with their campaign for votes since the nominations were announced. But another unlikely contender in the game is Khafi, who is up for the second time since the show started. Whether she leaves this Sunday will be a luck factor playing against as her fans seemed to have surged since the news spread across the pond, pledging to support the police constable in this controversial time.
