In only its second year of existence, Miss Earth crowned another European as the winner. Džejla Glavović of Bosnia & Herzegovina was adjudged the best that time. But almost seven months after, the organizers dethroned her for being unable to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of the title. As a result, her 1st Runner-Up (Miss Earth Air 2002) Winfred Omwakwe of Kenya took over for the remainder of the reign.

”Džejla Glavović of Bosnia & Herzegovina won the title that year, also receiving Miss Talent. However, on May 28, 2003, the Miss Earth Foundation officially dethroned her “due to her failure to comply with the stipulations in her contract.” Miss Air (First runner-up) from Kenya, Winfred Omwakwe, took over the position of Miss Earth 2002. Omwakwe was formally crowned as the new Miss Earth 2002 on August 7, 2003 at the Carousel Gardens in Mandaluyong City, Philippines…”

Being a top model in her home country and parts of Eastern Europe, Džejla must have been hard-pressed to turn down job offers without necessarily seeking the permission of Carousel Productions. I reckon that she chose to take the risk of losing the crown in order to freely accept new modeling assignments that are more income-generating on a professional level. The title of Miss Earth was still trying to build its brand at the time. And in her part of the world, the recognition possibly didn’t matter much to booking agents and the like. Hence, the pageant mileage may not have worked to her advantage.

While her replacement only had three months of reign as Miss Earth 2002, Winnie maximized whatever opportunities that came with the title. Being tagged as the first African to win the crown, she brought joy to her fellow Kenyans. A Physiotherapist by profession, she pursued the pageant’s environmental causes before finally making a farewell walk during Miss Earth 2003 where she was succeeded by Dania Prince of Honduras (left photo).