The country was generally contented when Zahara Muhammed Nakiyaga was crowned Miss Uganda last Friday. Unlike last year’s winner Leah Kalanguka who was a victim of mean social media posts with some referring to her as “ugly”, Zahara was a crowd favourite at the pageant and she hasn’t come under social media bashing.
Not until former Miss Uganda organiser Sylvia Owori stepped in to say that Zahara can’t stand a chance at the Miss World pageant where she is set to represent Uganda in Sanya, China, this December.
“Yes she is beautiful, but with her facial features, she doesn’t stand a chance at Miss World. She has a round face and that is not what they look for,” Owori said on her Style Project show that was aired on NTV on Friday night.
Owori says that Miss World organisers look more for the girls with chiselled facial features and that you must be 5.7ft tall to stand a chance.
Miss Uganda Zahara Muhammed Nakiyaga. Owori says she doesn’t stand a chance at Miss World.
She also criticised the organisers for enlisting Aisha Nabukeera, a victim of child abuse with a visibly scarred body among the contestants.
“I read the Miss World rules somewhere and one of the prerequisites is that you must have a flawless skin, but then we had Aisha Nabukeera with her scars,” Kleith Kyatuhaire one of the show’s hosts pointed out before Owori went ahead to bash the organisers.
“The took advantage of the girl, they falsely raised her hopes, yet they knew she couldn’t take the crown, which is a bad thing,” Owori said.
Nabukeera made the 10 top cut at the pageant and she was named Miss Rising Woman.
But the Miss Uganda flack didn’t stop there as the hosts including Nunu Umuringa Butare went ahead to say that it was dull, without glamour and that the clothes were lousy and not fit for the contestants.
“The girls were not even trained by proper people. They lacked the poise and grace. If you look at my Miss Ugandas, like Salma Nassanga and Barbara Kimbugwe, they still carry themselves around with that grace that they received from their training,” Owori said.
NTV’s Style Project team that put the Miss Uganda pageant on the chopping board.
“It is a pity that the current Miss Uganda organiser (Brenda Nanyonjo) worked under me,” Owori went ahead to say.
Brenda Nanyonjo the current Miss Uganda franchise holder is on record to say that they look for beauties with a purpose, not video vixens or beauties with porridge with brains!
This is definitely a developing story and we shall keep you posted.
