Kenyans on Twitter were not a happy lot after Tourism CS Najib Balala announced that international supermodel Naomi Campbell will be Magical Kenya's International Tourism Ambassador.

Most questioned why the ministry opted for Naomi and not the country's very own Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o.

Well, the CS Balala said his ministry had unsuccessfully tried to get in touch with Ms Nyong’o for five years now.

"I know everybody is asking why not Lupita. Lupita has commitments and her managers cannot allow us to access her. We’ve spent the last five years looking for Lupita,” Mr Balala said.

Balala was speaking at the Kenyatta University during the issuance of certificates to some 60 researchers who did studies on the impacts of Covid-19 on the travel and tourism industry in Kenya last year.

He added that the supermodel Naomi will deliver perfectly.

We have a framework to work around her and she accepted to do it for free. She offered herself because of her love and commitment to Kenya. We are now working on the details on how do we use her to promote the destination.