Being Wema Sepetu

Wema Sepetu is a former Miss Tanzania, a reality TV star, an actress and an online sensation. She talks to CATE ODERA about the men in her life, life in the spotlight and the pain of her very public miscarriage.

It’s 4.45am and I am heading towards Wema’s room for her wake-up call. Today’s the day we do her TRUE LOVE photo shoot. The previous evening, we had arrived at the Panari Resort hotel, tired after the four-hour drive from Nairobi. This resort is home to the acclaimed Thomson’s falls in Nyahururu, but there is no time to enjoy the scenery. A busy day lies ahead of us.

As it turns out, Wema Sepetu is not quite the morning person.

‘Let’s give her 10 minutes,’ says Happy, her manager. Like her name, she is upbeat.

Thirty minutes later, Wema emerges from her room, ready for hair, makeup and breakfast. As people fuss around her, she remains calm, taking selfies she can post to her millions – yes, millions – of admirers on social media.

Wema is something to behold. Almost six feet tall, she has a flawless toffee-coloured skin, full lips and a figure even Kim Kardashian would envy. Her waist is a tiny 34 inches; her hips a spectacular 56 inches. And then there are those trademark contact lenses. She is clearly comfortable in her skin, and doesn’t give much thought to stripping naked in a room full of ladies.

Unlike most celebrities, Wema Sepetu’s life is an open book, and that’s exactly how she likes it. In fact, it’s her business, her livelihood, her brand.

She has almost three million fans on Instagram, has starred in Big Brother Africa and now her own reality show, In My Shoes, and has made 19 movies in the last nine years. That’s around two movies a year. An app in which she is the star launched on Google Play Store in January. It has already earned her US$15,000.