Zimbabwe models detained in Dubai

Zimbabwe models detained in Dubai

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By Showbiz Reporter

THREE Zimbabwean models were detained for four days by authorities in Dubai enroute to Turkey to take part in the Miss Tourism World finals, it emerged this week.

Mitchell Makanza, Shuvai Murumbi, Vongai Mushowe and their chaperone, Belinda Mutinhiri, experienced delays in obtaining Turkish visas.

The models got a further shock when their luggage got lost in the confusion, forcing them to go for THREE WEEKS with only two pairs of extra clothes each. The girls were forced to cancel pre-contest photo shoots.

The Miss Tourism World beauty pageant was held on December 20 in Antalya.

Makanza, the outgoing Miss Zimbabwe Tourism First Princess, said: “We spent four days in Dubai since we had no visas to board a plane to Turkey. We spent another three weeks in Turkey without our luggage that had almost everything.

“We felt out of place for those three weeks. Imagine just rotating two or three pairs of clothes during a modelling camp. As a result we did not go for any photo shoots but Caroline (Marufu), then came with some money which we later used to buy the clothes we wore during the contest."

The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority which sponsored the beauties’ trip said it had made arrangements for them to obtain Turkish visas in Dubai, but there had been a “communication breakdown” with the Turkish embassy.

Givemore Chidzidzi, the ZTA marketing and communications director, said: "Turkey has no embassy in Zimbabwe and we had made arrangements that they would access the visas on their way.

"It's only that it took long for the Turkish embassy to send a clearance letter to the immigration department in Dubai, resulting in the girls being detained at the airport.

"That problem did not only affect our models, as other countries that do not have Turkish embassies in their countries faced the same problem.”

Immigration authorities in Dubai are notoriously strict and several entertainers from South Africa have been barred from going through on transit to the UK. Kwaito star L’ vovo Derrango spent two nights in Dubai after he was refused passage on his way to the UK recently.

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