How Leaked Nude Photos Cost Kenyan Model Her Title

City model Ms Roshanara Ebrahim was dethroned from her Miss World Kenya position in July after her ex-boyfriend sent her nude photos to the pageant organisers, court documents have revealed.

In the ruling, published on KenyaLaw.org, the model's ex-boyfriend, Frank Zahlten, sent the photos to Ashleys Kenya chief executive officer Terry Mungai without the beauty queen’s knowledge.

For that, the court has ordered Mr Zahiten to pay the model Sh1 million for

violating her rights to privacy.

CONTRAVENED CONTRACTUAL TERMS

In the judgment delivered last Wednesday, Mr Justice Edward Muriithi of the High Court’s Constitutional and Human Rights Division however declined to reinstate Ms Ebrahim as Miss World Kenya, stating that she contravened the pageant’s contractual terms.

Judge Muriithi however trashed an allegation against Ms Ebrahim that she was a drug user.

“It is not possible to determine from the photographs whether the petitioner is taking drugs. Only a proper criminal investigation may reveal the truth,” he said.

Reading through Justice Muriithi’s judgment, it emerges that Ms Mungai received an email containing Ms Ebrahim’s nude photos on July 28.

A day later, she released a media statement saying Ms Ebrahim had agreed to step down from her position. </ p > < p > “A grave situation has come to our attention that is in breach of our code of Conduct and our contract with the reigning Miss World Kenya 2016 Roshanara. We uphold a strict code of conduct that expects Beauty Queens to manage their public and private life,” Ms Mungai had stated in the widely-circulated statement. </ p > < p > Following her dethronement and the subsequent installation of Ms Evelyne Njambi as Miss World Kenya, Ms Ebrahim sued Ashleys Kenya, its CEO Terry Mungai, her ex-boyfriend Mr Zahlten and the newly-crowned Ms Njambi.

PHONESTOLEN

The court heard that Ms Ebrahim’s phone was stolen in Italy in April 2015. She said the theft could have been the source of leaked photos taken between 2013 and 2015.

Justice Muriithi also heard that there were photos taken in March 2016 whose leakage was not explained.

In the end, the judge found that Ms Ebrahim posed for the nudes and in some cases took selfies and sent the photos to Mr Zahlten who was her boyfriend at the time.

“It was urged that the petitioner (Ms Ebrahim) had waived her right to privacy by taking the subject photographs by a communication gadget as selfies and voluntarily sending them to the 3rd Respondent (Mr Zahlten) using a communication gadget,” reads the judgment.