When porn creeps back from the dead: Singer Avril and Former Miss Kenya Roshanara speak out

 Avril and Roshanara Ibrahim

Couples do the unthinkable when they are madly in love. They will throw caution to the wind as they promise each other a slice of Heaven.

The daring ones take erotic pictures to spice things up in the bedroom.

For memories, some will record themselves screaming their lungs out as they rarua mashuka!

Sadly, when things go south, their little secrets are exposed and the price they pay is high.

Take the case of Brother Ochola’s sexual fantasies that he accidentally shared on a church WhatsApp group. He became the laughing stock among his church colleagues, who couldn’t understand why he was sharing his love messages with them.

But he is not the first one to do so. Neither will he be the last.

We have heard of cases in which jilted lovers use erotic videos, nude photos and voice recordings of their exes to blackmail or coerce their partners into continuing with the relationship, or punishing them for a breakup.

Our waheshimiwa have also fallen prey and have been forced to cough millions to buy silence.

Revenge porn victims are often exposed and have to deal with workplace discrimination, cyber stalking, bullying and even physical attacks.

Take singer and actress Judith Nyambura Mwangi aka Avril, whose career was pushed to the edge after her nude photos were leaked.

“It was a typical day and I was meeting a friend for lunch. Sudden, my phone couldn’t stop buzzing. A producer I was working with called and when I picked; he asked me to check my Facebook,” she said.

On logging on to Facebook, Avril was shocked to find intimate photos of her and another woman. That was in 2015.

Some of her fans assumed it was a publicity stunt gone awry, claims which the singer has denied.

There are reports that when the photos leaked, Avril confessed it was a school project.

For the first time, singer Avril has opened up to The Nairobian about the fateful day and blatantly denied that it was her tits in the photos that broke the Internet in 2015.

“Those were not my pictures and I have said so from the start, but people just don’t believe me. My face was cropped into those photos. I have never met the lady in the photos,” she insisted.

The Nikimuona hitmaker added that she was shocked because no one had ever blackmailed her.

“There was no prior warning that something was going to be posted,” Avril told The Nairobian, adding that, “I believe that people who do such things are cowards who don’t know they are not just messing the life of one person, but many other people.”

Avril says that her parents, loved ones and other family members were disappointed.

“I lost so many contracts at a time when my career was taking off. Corporate brands did not want to be associated with me,” she revealed.

When asked why she did not give an official response at the time, she said that, “I took the high road. I knew that even if I released a statement, it was just going to escalate things. But what I would advise people in relationships or marriage is, do not do things because you are so in love or you want to spice your life. Think about it first because when you break up or you are divorced, the person you loved the most could end up being your worst enemy.”

The girl who was in the controversial photos is a model identified as Melisa.

Another victim of revenge porn is Miss Kenya 2016 Roshanara Ebrahim. Just like Avril, her modelling career was at its peak when she was stripped of her title and quickly replaced with the reigning Miss World Kenya Everlyn Njambi.

Rumour mills were on the overdrive and speculators claimed that she was either dating a controversial MP, or was pregnant and HIV positive. While most blogs were busy speculating, what they didn’t know was that Roshanara was a victim of revenge porn.

“I met my ex-boyfriend Franck Zahiten in 2012 at a house party just before I joined university. We became friends instantly. Later, I joined university and he joined another college and so, we drifted apart. But in 2014 during an event, we met again and after a couple of meetings, we started dating,” Roshanara said.

She introduced him to her parents and they had plans to get married.

“I would sleep at his place and he would also spend time. Everything was perfect. My friends used to say he was the best boyfriend I could ever have. But things changed when I competed for Miss Nairobi and won the title,” she said, adding that Zahiten also competed and won Mr Mombasa.

She had to go to Malindi for the finals of Miss World Kenya and Zahiten came to support her and when “I won the crown, he cried and left the event. He later said we are not going to be together because I’m too good for him and would find someone better.”

Roshanara’s assurance that no such thing would happen was not convincing to her insecure ex-boyfriend.

“We would watch the video of Miss World competition from 1993 to date because I was preparing to represent Kenya at Miss World competitions. We had a plan that I would launch my modelling career internationally while he would be a pilot,” she said.

But he became even more insecure and in February of 2016, they broke up. However, they got back together a few weeks later.

“As a couple who were about to get married, we would take intimate photos. We even slept in the same bed at my parents’ house,” said Roshanara.

But when they had an argument at a friend’s place, Zahiten threatened to leak their intimate photos if she ever left him.

“I was worried because we used to take and delete nude photos. So I started to sweet talk him so that we could be in a better place then delete the nudes when I got the opportunity, which I did. But he became too insecure and started stalking me on Facebook.

He would follow me everywhere I go and even started going through my phone. I had no freedom and that’s what pushed me to call it quits in May 2016. My mom had seen the signs and wanted me to end the relationship,” Roshanara told The Nairobian.

“Miss Kenya franchise owner Terry Mungai called me for a meeting on July 28. When I got there, she showed me the photos and said I was stripped of my title.

I was not given any chance to defend myself and the next day, a press release was sent to media houses stating that, “It is with great sadness that I accepted the decision of Miss World Kenya office to relinquish me of my duties as Miss World Kenya 2016.

But I urge aspiring beauty queens to ensure their personal lives do not affect their role as Miss World Kenya.”

Roshanara said that, “I hired a lawyer and we went to court. Terry Mungai and Zahiten were barred from releasing any images. Eventually I won the case and I was awarded Sh2.5 million, which he is yet to pay.

“My advice to guys in relationships and young girls is to be careful. Don’t send images or videos. Love comes and goes and if you are being blackmailed, seek help,” Roshanara said.