ZARI: A tourism ambassador or slay queen on holiday?

It is no secret that Zari Hassan, Zarinah Tlale, Zari The Boss Lady or whatever you want to call her is one of the most followed personalities on social media in the region. But the ‘Tulambule ne Zari’ campaign is on the verge of backfiring if the tourism ministry does not twitch their gameplan. 

As junior tourism minister, Godfrey Kiwanda rightly put it, her following is exactly why Zari was appointed Uganda’s tourism ambassador despite most Uganda expressing concern to the contrary. 

But from the photos Zari is posting across her social media platforms, it has become increasingly clear that the ‘Boss Lady’ is not exactly promoting Ugandan tourism but simply on a mission to slay, chill and promote herself at the expense of Ugandans. 

Over 75 per cent of the photos that Zari has posted in the guise of making Uganda’s unique features known to the world have her in them — mostly with minister Kiwanda enjoying themselves.

This has left most Ugandans asking if Zari is the tourist attraction Uganda is marketing. 

With over 4.3m followers on Instagram, Zari has the potential to showcase the best Uganda has to offer but this mission is plagued by poor photography, the desire for her to appear in almost all the photos instead of wildlife, scenery, sunsets, food and culture and the clear lack of a game plan.