Hostage negotiator
Jude Wilken (39) from Kempton Park, Gauteng, became the third person to leave
Survivor South Africa: Panama when she asked her tribe to vote her out of the game for health reasons.
Jude's tribe, Aguila, lost their second straight immunity challenge to Rana, and she asked her tribe to vote her out as she was too weak to continue.
This came to the fore at Tribal Council and in a break with traditional tribal council rules, host
Mark Bayly said voting was unnecessary as the decision was already made.
Mark allowed the Aguilans to say their last goodbyes to Jude before snuffing out her flame.
The surviving members were relieved to have stayed in game. Little did they know that their parting tears did not mark the end of their tribal council session.
Following Jude's departure, Mark made a shocking announcement: since Jude had asked to go before any votes had been cast, the other players were not off the hook yet. In accordance with Survivor rules, they still had to vote.
The ballots of the unsuspecting Aguilans, who came to tribal council prepared to let Jude go, revealed a shift in tribe loyalties.
Brigitte, earmarked last week to follow in her friend
Sam's footsteps, received one only vote, while the remaining votes all went to a visibly stunned
Nico.
As Survivor rules stipulate that only one torch can be extinguished at each tribal council, Mark explained that Nico would start Aguila's next tribal council with one vote against him.
Jude attributed her exit to low blood pressure and a diet lacking magnesium and iron. When she realised that her condition would only decline and drag the team down in future challenges, she tearfully tried to persuade her team to vote her off.
At first this request was met with fierce resistance, especially from
Mzi, who was convinced that her energy levels would increase again.
Aguila won a knife and mosquito net in this week's reward challenge in which three members from each tribe had to outlast each other in a race to claim stakes on the beach.
Two Rana members were eliminated first, but then Aguila's only remaining hope,
Sanele, turned into the hero of the day by outplaying the three Rana members.
In the immunity challenge dubbed The Swing, the tribes had to move a member hanging from ropes to and fro to collect and reposition human skulls. Aguila lost by just one "skeleton head".
So far Aguila have won four out of the six challenges; Rana's two victories were both immunity challenges.
Rana contemplated moving camp this week when the tide came dangerously close to destroying their shelter. They still haven't managed to make fire, despite desperate efforts using everything from broken bottles to
Ncumisa's spectacles.
Survivor South Africa: Panama is screened in M-Net's Open Time on Sundays at 18h00. It repeats on M-Net Series, channel 36 on DStv, on Fridays at 22h00 and Saturdays at 10h00 and 16h00.
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