'Big Brother Mzansi' Season 6 Star Thandeka Tshabalala Speaks Out After Losing to Liema Pantsi

• On Sunday, 22 March 2026, Liema Pantsi won the R2 million grand prize, while Thandeka Tshabalala finished as Big Brother Mzansi Season 6 runner-up
• In her first interview published on Monday, 23 March 2026, Thandeka addressed her loss to Liema Pantsi
• Some social media users supported Thandeka's statements, while others criticised her and defended Liema’s win

Big Brother Mzansi Season 6 contestant Thandeka Tshabalala has broken her silence after Liema Pantsi won the R2 million grand prize.

Liema Pantsi emerged triumphant after re-entering the Big Brother Mzansi house as a redemption contestant after her controversial exit in season four, where she chose to take R250,000 and leave the competition early.

Several South Africans sought to right what they felt was an injustice after Liema Pantsi was announced the winner during the finale on Sunday, 22 March 2026.

Thandeka speaks after BBMzansi loss to Liema

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In her first interview with the Sowetan published on Monday, 23 March, Thandeka opened up about losing to Liema. The 30-year-old from KwaZulu-Natal crowned herself the Big Brother Mzansi Bazozwa Edition Queen.

“First of all, I am the Bazozwa Queen. that. I came there to be me, and I already said I’m a winner. Liema came in with followers; I came in alone. I’m still the Bazozwa Queen, so I’m happy for her,” Thandeka said.

She suggested that Liema Pantsi only won because she was a redemption contestant. Thandeka argued that if they had come on equal terms, she would have easily walked away with the R2 million.

“I would have won had Liema not had a fanbase and had we all started from ground zero. Yeah, I would have definitely won, 100%,” Thandeka said.

X (Twitter) user @BoitumeloTumeey took screenshots of Thandeka Tshabalala’s reaction to losing the Big Brother Mzansi Season 6 crown and reshared them on the microblogging platform. The post was captioned:

“One thing about Thandeka, she will speak her truth.”

See the screenshots below:

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SA reacts as Thandeka declares herself BBMzansi Season 6 winner

Social media users flooded the comments with a cocktail of reactions. While some sympathised with Thandeka, others explained why she didn’t deserve to win.

Here are some of the comments:

@BadGirl30s argued:

“Villains never win the show. She was vile. Liema is loved because why other returnees didn’t make it with their older fanbases?”

@SymplyT_23 highlighted:

“Let’s not forget that there are many people like me who saw Liema for the first time and supported her right away without knowing her story. I supported both of them at the start, but her character that I couldn’t resonate with made me drop her and stick to Liema.”

@Thiba_mowe argued:

“Don't get it twisted, guys, if Liema wasn't there, then most of us who voted for Liema would still have voted for another nice, humbled, soft-spoken, God-fearing, family-loving housemate. The whole Liema's fan base, Didi's fan base, Trixie's fan base and many others wouldn't vote for her.”

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@ViciousBadbunny remarked:

“That's a fact. Nobody even competed. Thandeka, you're Bazozwa and will ever be the winner of this season to us 🫶🏾👏🏾”

@YolandaSiv42137 gushed:

“Chile, now I love her even more! Help me guys, I can’t stop loving her😭😭😭🩷🩷”

@AfrikanChefZA said:

“The audio is so mouthful. The journalist was shocked at how articulate and savvy she is.”

Mmeli breaks silence after Thandeka loses Big Brother Mzansi Season 6

Meanwhile, Briefly News reported that Mmeli Khumalo, Thandeka’s love interest in the Big Brother Mzansi Season 6 house, reacted after she lost to Liema on his X account.

Social media users had mixed responses, with some praising the couple and wishing them well, while others predicted potential struggles or criticised Mmeli's reaction.

Source: Briefly News