Miss Uganda Suspension Lifted

By Matthias Mugisha Miss Uganda Victoria Nabunya has cause to smile again after a suspension slammed on her was lifted yesterday. Jessica Kyeyune, the spokesperson for Miss Uganda 2001 Ltd, the organisers of the pageant, told The New Vision in an exclusive interview at Ziper House, Kampala Road yesterday that the suspension ended after Nabunya apologised and promised to do better. Nabunya was present. “She gave us assurance that the mistakes of the past are not going to happen again,’’ Kyeyune said. Nabunya was suspended on December 14 for allegedly failing to “live up to expectation.” But sources said she failed to turn up for duty without “good reason.” First runner-up Juliet Epenu has been acting Miss Uganda. Nabunya, who was calm, said the suspension had given her a chance to re-assess herself and think of the best way forward. “You should expect the best from me, the best Miss Uganda ever,’’ she said. She was flanked by the company’s managing director Sylvia Owori and production manager Nsera Mukasa. Nabunya said her new year resolution is to launch a breast cancer awareness campaign. She said she will raise money to buy a monograph for Mulago Hospital Cancer Institute. Owori said Nabunya and all the girls who participated in the beauty contest are bound by contract to carry out certain duties. All the girls signed contracts before the contest. The contract also obliged the contestants to sign an exclusive contract with Ziper Models, which belongs to Owori. Nabunya, who said she wants to study paediatrics, re-appears in public as Miss Uganda on New Year’s party at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel on January 1. Ends