WeeklySA_AdminCHARITY DRIVE: Newly crowned queen to promote mental wellness during her year-long rein…
By Jacob Mawela
20-year-old Pimville-raised WITS University Second Year Psychology and Portuguese student, Mbali Khumalo brought the curtain down on the 45th edition of the White Star Miss Soweto 2024 pageant after she was crowned queen at an uproarious Soweto Theatre in Jabulani on the bustling last evening of November 2024!
Representing Pimville among twenty other contestants, the daughter of a past Miss Soweto finalist (in 1998 and 1999) got the nod of judges, viz, radio presenter, Bridget Masinga, lifestyle editor Grace Mantjiu and Sowetan reporter Masego Seemela – with the new sovereign’s royal court being populated by First Princess, Onthatile Mohuba, a UNISA Second Year Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Science and Psychology 22-year-old student from Pimville and Second Princess, Boitumelo Molotsane, a University of Johannesburg Second Year Accounting 22-year-old student from Meadowlands.
On her biography on the pageant’s website inquiring why she should win Miss Soweto, Khumalo is quoted thus: “I aim to use this platform for promoting mental health awareness and breaking the stigma that those who suffer mentally cannot occupy spaces and lead.
I would love to become a voice of hope to young women and to encourage them that they too can overcome even the highest of barriers that have been placed in front of them.”
Regarding the pageant’s legacy, Mokhele Makhothi, the Marketing Manager at White Star – the pageant’s sponsor for 16 years – is quoted thus: “For 45 years, the Miss Soweto pageant has been a transformative force, empowering women and providing them with platforms to shine. This remarkable journey has seen countless young women rise to prominence, breaking barriers and becoming leaders in their communities. Our aim is to celebrate this legacy while fostering connections that enrich our diverse cultural identities.”
Miss Soweto 2005, Lerato Kganyago, compére the occasion. Singer and songwriter Nia Pearl, a.k.a Peleka Lwana and seasoned songstress, Simphiwe Dana performed the musical entertainment for the audience – among it, ex-queens, Fikile Masilela-Chuene (1987), Busisiwe Mmotla (2017) and Tsakane Sono (2022).
Collin Sithole (who has been staging the pageant since 2013 after his father and the pageant’s founder, Leonard, retired) made an appearance onstage to present outgoing queen, Paige Harvey with gifts of appreciation for serving the brand well throughout her reign.
The senior Sithole staged the first Miss Soweto in May 1979 at the then Eyethu Cinema Mofolo, Soweto, which was won by Hazel Mazibuko. (The 2024 contestants were taken on a tour of the original venue, now a modern shopping centre, to view huge images – including that of Mazibuko – narrating Soweto’s role in showbiz, plastered around the walls of the centre’s bioscope section.)
The Sitholes venture has travelled 45 years from Mazibuko taking home a bedroom suite (courtesy of then sponsor, Ellerines Furniture) as the main prize for being crowned queen – to the current queen cashing in on an amount of R100 000!
