On Tuesday, Tourism CS Najib Balala sparked mixed reactions on social media after he announced the appointment of celebrated international model Naomi Campbell as Magical Kenya International Tourism ambassador.
In a statement shared by the Ministry of Tourism, it was noted that the international model’s new role will include, among other things, helping promote and market Kenya as an ideal tourism and travel destination; an agreement reached after a meeting over the past weekend.
“We welcome the exciting news that Naomi Campbell will advocate for tourism and travel internationally for the magical Kenya brand,” Balala said in a press statement.
Campbell, on her part, thanked the Kenya government for the improvement of infrastructure at the Coast, including the upgrading of the Malindi Airport to international standards.
Following the announcement, netizens, especially the ever-opinionated Kenyans on Twitter went livid.
A majority of them presented the argument that the role ought to have been given to a different candidate, perhaps one more of Kenyan ethnicity, whilst another section expressed no opposition to the appointment, with many viewing her as the right candidate for the job.
Hio position wamepea Naomi Campbell is lupita a joke to them😏
— Somalianbae🇸🇴🇰🇪 (@adan_zamuh) January 12, 2021
https://twitter.com/DavidOsiany/status/1348923250819141638?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1348923250819141638%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fnairobinews.nation.co.ke%2Feditors-picks%2Fkenyans-livid-as-balala-picks-naomi-campbell-as-international-tourism-ambassador
Ministry of Tourism taps Naomi Campbell, a tired model who has lost her mojo to be the Magical Kenya international Brand Ambassador and is to market Kenya as a tourism and travel destination. Why not @Lupita_Nyongo or one of our daughters of international repute? Lol
— Hon Millicent Omanga (@MillicentOmanga) January 12, 2021
People who voted in ICC criminals are not surprised a child trafficker is our international brand ambassador.
We don’t even care for due diligence.— Edzil Saliba Timber (@Ednah___) January 12, 2021
This Woman Naomi Campbell
Naomi is of Chinese and Jamaican descent and was raised by her grandmother and aunts in South London while her mother toured the world as a dancer.
On her love for Africa, in a November 2019 interview with The Guardian, Naomi stated that she feels at peace in Africa. A peace she called “ a very real inner peace.”
She is known for encouraging global companies to invest in fashion in Africa.
It is well known that she encouraged French luxury company Kering Group to invest in a fashion college in Kenya and other places in Africa.
Although the term Supermodel was coined as early as 1947, it was widely used later in the late ’80s and early ’90s.
Back then, the term was used to refer to Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista and Claudia Schiffer, aptly called “The Big Five.”
Child Trafficking Claims
Away from all the glam and glitter, Naomi, who had been in Kenya since December, was most recently linked to ex-American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s disturbing case by popular hacktivists group “Anonymous”.
For those unaware, Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking.
In the expose, the cyber activists revealed the relationship of renowned personalities with the Jeffrey Epstein child trafficking network.
You had Jeffrey Epstein killed to cover up your history of child trafficking and rape. We've have the recipts here: https://t.co/zYnSn3kCNe
— Anonymous (@YourAnonCentral) May 31, 2020
These names included Ivanka and Ivana Trump, their father Donald, Naomi Campbell, Chris Evans, Mick Jagger and Will Smith, among other celebrities.
The list with hundreds of names on it was uploaded through a file on their social networks under the name of “The Little Black Book of Jeffrey Epstein”, and in it, they exposed all the people who attended parties organised by Jeffrey Epstein, where it is said that he recruited the children.
This photo reveals all – Naomi Campbell, Ghislaine Maxwell, and trump all in one photo! #Anonymous really here exposing all these cover ups. pic.twitter.com/ekmd678e9d
— Sophieee (@SophieYeoo_) June 1, 2020
Soon after the documents started making rounds on the internet, Twitterati could not hold back but express their disappointment regarding the same.
As more fans started calling out Naomi and asked for her response regarding the same, she disabled the comment section of her latest post on Instagram.
The case of Jeffrey Epstein was so impactful that Netflix released a documentary about it.
The docuseries named “Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich” depicts Epstein’s crimes against young women as he, along with other men in power ran an international sex trafficking ring.
After his guilt had been proven, the businessman is said to have taken his own life rather than spend it behind bars, although there are some who do not believe he committed suicide but instead was murdered to prevent him from revealing information about others.
