Zari Hassan has had enough of the age talk. The Ugandan socialite and businesswoman used social media to answer netizens who keep insisting she is well over 50, and she came out swinging.
In a video on her Snapchat account, Zari made her position clear. She is 46, and she sees no reason to lie about it.
"Whether you like it or not"
She did not soften her message.
"Whether you like it or not, happy with it, I am 46," she said. She then added, sarcastically: "But to make you feel better, I am 100."
She said she hoped the exchange would improve her critics' lives "socially, economically, and financially".
"You look better than me? Are you richer than me? You're still the same miserable person."
Why the confusion?
Zari said the doubts stem from her family life.
She had children young and has been photographed with them ever since. As they grew up, she said, people looked at them and assumed she must be much older.
"I gave birth when I was young, and I have been growing up with them," she said.
Age has long been an easy target for online commentary, particularly for women in the public eye.
A familiar public figure
Zari is one of East Africa's best-known entertainment personalities. She is a mother of five and lives in South Africa, where she runs her businesses.
Zari's career began in performance. At Jinja Girls High School she joined the music, dance and drama groups, and she later performed karaoke in Kampala.
She has also appeared in the reality series Young, Famous & African.
She is CEO of Brooklyn City College, which she co-founded with her late husband, Ivan Ssemwanga. She also shares children with Tanzanian music star Diamond Platnumz, her former partner.
Zari appeared unbothered by the noise. She said the opinions of strangers online carry little weight in her world.
