TAKEAWAYS

• Mitchelle Daka won the Elite Model Look competition in Kenya in 2011 but says she was never Kenyan.
• The Miss Universe Uganda winner was born in Budaka and grew up considering Pallisa her home.
• Daka proudly identifies with her Ugandan roots and her connection to the Bagwere community.

The newly crowned Miss Universe Uganda Mitchelle Daka has addressed claims that she is Kenyan, explaining that the confusion stems from her time living and working in Kenya.

Appearing on Galaxy FM, Daka was asked about reports surrounding her 2011 victory in the Elite Model Look competition in Kenya, which led people to assume that she was Kenyan.

Daka explained that she had moved to Kenya after spending her first year in Vienna and lived there for about two and a half years. During that period, she entered the modelling competition and emerged victorious.

“I participated and I won, but I wasn’t Kenyan, so everything ended exactly there,” Daka said.

She stressed that winning the competition did not change her nationality, making it clear that she is Ugandan and was born and raised in the country.

“So you’re Ugandan, you’re not Kenyan,” the beauty queen got asked to which she replied that, “Yes, very much, fully Ugandan,” she responded.

Daka revealed that she was born in Budaka and has family connections to eastern Uganda. While her paternal grandfather was Japadhola, she explained that she grew up considering Pallisa her home and identifies closely with the Bagwere community.

Her connection to the region has influenced how she presents herself, with Daka saying she is proud to represent Budaka and the Bagwere people.

During the conversation, she was also asked whether she speaks Lugwere, with the beauty queen joking that she can at least greet in the language.

Daka’s clarification puts to rest speculation over her nationality, while highlighting the diverse Ugandan roots behind the woman currently representing the country on the international beauty stage.