Miss Namibia 2018 Selma Kamanya has revealed on her Instagram stories that she will not be attending the 2019 Miss Namibia pageant to hand over her crown.
“Due to past and present circumstance which culminated in an adverse series of events and which further impaired my wellness. I hereby announce that I will not be attending tonight’s Miss Namibia event,”
Selma Kamanya recently spoke out against the Miss Namibia pageant show organisers and their treatment of her during her tenure as Miss Namibia 2019. Kamanya revealed to Informante publication that the Miss Namibia show organisers did not prepare her fully to represent Namibia at the Miss Universe pageant and that she had to pay for many things as Miss Namibia from her own expenses. She also pointed out that she did not receive her full prize money for winning Miss Namibia.
This might be the first time in the history of the Miss Namibia pageant that a crown holder will not be handing over her title to the incoming pageant winner.
Soon after she revealed her ordeal with Miss Namibia other Miss Namibia personalities also shared their worst experiences with the pageant. Some of the previous winners say they were verbally abused and body-shamed by the Miss Namibia Show organisers if they did not meet certain specifications aligned with the Miss Namibia brand.
The Managing Director of the Miss Namibia Joint Venture Conny Maritz rejected claims by incumbent Miss Namibia Selma Kamanya that she was emotionally and financially abused during her reign.
A statement issued by Maritz said. “We have said it before and say again that if anyone enters the Miss Namibia competition in the expectation that it will only be a life of glitter and glamour and that she will be cuddled in adulation, extravagant luxury or riches and use her title to seek personal wealth, she is sadly mistaken and should not bother at all.”
The Miss Namibia 2019 pageant takes place tonight at 19H00 at the Windhoek Country Club Resort and Casino.
