Ghana’s Most Beautiful winner, Nasara Miriam Abdul Rauf, has explained to NEWS-ONE the circumstances under which she is being accused of stealing a mobile phone and make-up kit of Miss England.
She has also disclosed that contrary to a report by TV3 that she had been stripped off her title, no such information has been communicated to her and that still has the prestigious crown.
“It sounds ridiculous...I first saw it on Facebook and then it was all over but as I speak to you now, TV3 has not contacted me and no one has told me anything about the crown or my title and I as far as I am concerned, I’m still Ghana’s Most Beautiful, I still hold the crown and have even sent it for polishing because I do not have any problem with TV3 or any person there.
“One newspaper accused me of phone theft and TV3 asked me not to respond or defend myself and that they would do that on my behalf.
While I was waiting for them to take the paper on and clear my name, they issue such a press statement, I am shocked and I feel embarrassed,” Nasara told NEWS-ONE yesterday in an interview over the matter.
TV3, last Sunday, issued an ambiguous news release claiming they had stripped Nasara off her title and given it to the 1st runner up, Lamisi.
The release was issued at a time rumors were rife that Nasara had stolen a mobile phone and make-up kit belonging to Miss England during a recent beauty contest held in the UK.
But Nasara told NEWS-ONE that she had never been to the UK and never stolen any phone.
“No one has told me of stealing any phone and how on earth can a black girl like me steal the make-up kit of a white girl? It just does not make sense because I cannot use it. I have a make-up deal with FC Perfumery so I am not in need of make-ups.
“I use three phones; a 2010 brand 26-gigs I-Phone, a Black Berry, a Nokia 5800 with a 32-gig capacity that is also a 2010 brand and I have three new phones in my wardrobe. Why would I steal a used phone? What for? ” Nasara asked rhetorically.
According to her, during a beauty pageant held in the Philippines last year, she shared the same room with Miss England and happened to have used her phone to make a call to Ghana in her absence.
“It was in the middle of the night and I used her phone to make a call to Ghana to ask that my flight should be changed because I wanted to see a Tsuname that was announced. What I should have done was to have informed her when she returned.
“Later, she realized it but by then I was back in Ghana so she sent a bill to TV3 that the credits I used had cost her $150. TV3 called me and I admitted to having used her phone so I paid the $150 and that was all. I used her units in making a call, she says it cost her $150 and I have paid her,” Nasara explained.
She said when a Ghanaian tabloid put the story out that she had stolen a phone, the paper quoted her manager, one Hafis as being the source of the newspaper’s information. But when she asked Hafis, he denied that he had ever spoken to the newspaper.
“But he also said I should not come out to speak and that he would handle it but he has not done that until now and I have to come out to clear my name,” Nasara added.
When asked if she was bothered by the development, Nasara said though she feels sad by it, she also sees it as a reminder that life has its own twists and turns.
“I am not allowing this to weigh me down and I thank the many Ghanaians out there who are reading between the lines and seeing this is nothing but blackmail and a setup; I ask the many Ghanaian girls who look up to me to remain steadfast and learn from this but for the record, I am not a phone thief; Nasara does not steal,” Nasara added.