Big Brother Africa is back and this time, so are the housemates. The Big Brother All-stars launch on Sunday saw a reunion of housemates from all four previous seasons of the hit reality TV show, come back for a chance to win the $200,000 prize money.

As speculated throughout the days leading to the big reveal Ghana’s rep from Season 1 of the show, Sammy B got the nod to represent the country in the all-star version. Many Ghanaians believe Sammy B has been their best rep since the show begun, and many more are convinced that he could have gone even further if he had not injured himself in the series. Sammy’s leg injury perhaps made him a burden to the other housemates during the tasks and maybe boring to watch. So what has changed now and can Sammy win Big Brother for Ghana?

Well, Sammy goes into the Big Brother House at a time when the love and admiration for Ghana is at a high following the exploits of the Ghana Black Stars at the just ended 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. There is so much affinity for everything Ghanaian in South Africa and perhaps across the continent; and even the beating of the African Talking drums of Ghana at the launch on Sunday goes to prove that point. Apart from performances from Sean Paul, the Ghanaian drumming and dancing act was the only other entertaining interlude on the night of the launch.

The goodwill from Africa would certainly not be enough to see Sammy win; he would have to strategize will, play the game well and entertain viewers. Now that he has an album out, obviously he would be singing his own songs every now and then, as was evident in his introductory video on Sunday night.

Sammy would have to beat 13 other returnees including: Mwisho Mwampamba, 29, from Morogoro, Tanzania; Lerato Sengadi, 28, from Soweto, South Africa;  Code Sangala, 34, from Blantyre, Malawi; Meryl Shikwambane, 24, from Namibia; Tatiana Durao, 29, from Luanda, Angola;  Munyaradzi (Munya) Chidzonga, 24, from Zimbabwe; and Sheila Kwamboka, 25, from Kenya. The rest are Uti Nwachukwu, 27, from Nigeria; Hannington Kuteesa, 25, from Uganda;  Jennifer Mussanhane, 23, from Mozambique;  Kaone Ramontshonyana, 27, from Botswana;  Paloma Manda, 26, from Zambia; and  Yacob Yehdeg, 29, from Ethiopia.