Miss Tourism, Barbara Nakitto, on the shelf

By John Agaba

Miss Tourism Uganda, Barbara Nakitto, who was also crowned Miss Friendship for her verve during the recently concluded Miss Tourism International pageant in Malaysia, has given a green light to you all eligible bachelors who might want to try their lack at the latest beauty on the block.

She is single!

But you will need all your machismo coupled with chivalry and girl charm prompts to impress, because she is not searching. If you are the kind who doesn’t beg women, don’t bother trying.  She is not needy.

During her welcome party, or so it was, at the Kampala Sheraton Hotel Thursday, the beautiful Barbara said, “I’m single. But wait a minute, I’m not searching.”

She also warned that she has a fleet of dudes around her (not her boyfriends because she is single) so if you are the insecure type you might also want to throw out the rag, before you never had it really in.

But that shouldn’t scare you. She’s also vulnerable. And if she gets a dude who will treat her right, who said nothing is impossible?  She actually said, “If God brings him, why not? I’m above 18.” So there you go guys.

Nakitto, 22, flew out of the country for the pageant over a month ago, alongside her trainer, Sarah Nyamwenge. While in Malaysia, she said, they visited (her and the other 59 contestants) various tourist attractions, museums, and abc.  

“I did my best to showcase Uganda’s attributes,” she said.

And sure she did. During the event’s grand finale, Nakitto walked away with the Miss Friendship crown, one of the crowns competed for on the night. And overall, she came 14th, beating majority of the 60 beauties who participated in the event.

The annual event was won by Philippine’s Angeli Dione Gomez. First runner up was Thailand’s Sunidporn Srisuwan. And second runner up, Australia’s Sarah Czarnuch.

She touched down at Entebbe on January 3.  

During her welcome thing at the Sheraton, Maria Mutagamba, the tourism minister, was quick to point out that Nakitto’s victory was synonymous with Uganda’s hospitality; “because we are known as friendly and very welcoming people.”

She, Nakitto, was flanked by her trainer, Nyamwenge, and a couple officials from the tourism department.

And all the while she listened to speech after speech congratulating her for lifting Uganda’s flag high, she just sat there like a baby queen, only constantly flushing her very cute smile.

Mutagamba promised at some later event, date not mentioned, the ministry would present Nakitto with a car (didn’t specify the type) to aid her do her work as Uganda’s Miss Tourism.

Nakitto said she hoped to move around the country, visiting school after school, encouraging the young about Uganda’s heritage and traditions.

“What sets us apart from those developed countries is our culture, our heritage, and values. Yes, they may be developed, but they don’t have our culture. They don’t have our green. They don’t have our environment. Our young people need to appreciate these values,” she said.