MODELLING Industry Association Zimbabwe (Miaz) and Size 4 Modelling Agency founder, Wilbert Rukato, has been accused of abuse of beauty models forced to parade in nightclubs by some unscrupulous modelling agencies.
BY WINSTONE ANTONIO
This follows revelations by some models who participated in the Miss World Zimbabwe 2017 auditions who said abuse was prevalent in the sector, including having to participate in pageants held in nightclubs and bars.
Some of the beauties claimed to have been threatened with de-registration from their respective agencies by founders if they failed to follow commands.
Rukato, however, was not keen to respond when contacted for comment, citing bureaucratic procedures.
“There are many people involved in running the agency including a legal adviser and official spokesperson and sponsors who need to be consulted before making comments. I can’t comment,” he said.
Stakeholders in the modelling industry have been pushing to professionalise the sector after years of controversy and scandals backstage amid claims that there were too many modelling agents and casting companies operating with no professional ethics and standards.
Miaz’s regulations stipulate that modelling agencies should not use nightclubs for pageants as that would make models prone to abuse.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
A survey by NewsDay Weekender, however, established that Rukato has been organising pageants in nightclubs under his Size 4 agency. In 2013, he hosted Miss Circus beauty pageant, which was held at the then Circus Night Club in Strathaven, Harare.
On Christmas Eve in 2015, Rukato organised Miss Summer Zimbabwe at Private Lounge, a nightclub in Harare renowned for its striptease shows,
were a 20-year-old beauty, Vimbai Mungofa, shrugged off stiff competition from 12 other models to be crowned the queen.
During the same year in September, Rukato again organised Miss Zim-Zambia at the same joint where 19-year-old Charity Chaukira was crowned queen.
Last year, however, Rukato accused organisers of the Miss Schools 2016 beauty pageant of holding the event in a nightclub at Long Cheng Plaza in Belvedere, Harare.
Stakeholders in the modelling sector have called for the dissolution of Miaz to protect the image of the profession claiming that the board has done very little over the years to retain the profession’s high standards.
A prominent agent and former supermodel told NewsDay Weekender that very little had been done to protect models.
“Very little has been done by this body Miaz, in terms of protecting the models that it is best described as a missing link in the sector,” he said.
