WeeklySA_AdminPARADE: After the settling of the dust, the nation has since wrapped loving arms around their newly crowned queen in a proud and warm embrace…
By Priscilla Malinga
With all the storm surrounding contestant Chidimma Adetshina’s withdrawal from the Miss SA pageant seemingly tapering off, newly crowned queen Mia le Roux began her first week by receiving the keys to a brand-new Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupé that she will drive throughout her reign.
Said the 28-year-old Le Roux, who made history by being the first disabled contestant since the inception of the pageant, with a hearing impairment: “I am so excited and I am going to have all the fun in the world with this magnificent car. I am so thankful that it is such a safe vehicle with so many in-built safety features and I know I will have so much fun driving it this year. It is truly special to me because my Oupa (grandfather) was a Mercedes man and I am now driving a Mercedes so it is really a beautiful full circle moment”.
Le Roux was crowned Miss SA at the 2024 finals at the Sunbet Arena last Saturday amid a lingering controversy over Adetshina’s last-minute withdrawal from the pageant over her disputed citizenship. Chidima Adetshina, whose mother hails from Mozambique and dad from Nigeria, sparked a furore on social media platforms between South Africans and Nigerians about her eligibility.
Questions were raised about her mother’s nationality, who was initially reported to be South African of Mozambican descent – a topic that took another turn when the Department of Home Affairs said it found preliminary evidence suggesting that the person it had on record as Adetshina’s mother may have committed fraud and identity theft in acquiring South African citizenship.
Two days before the event, Adetshina wrote a letter stepping down as a contestant, claiming she feared for her life – something that left some South Africans gobsmacked as no one had threatened her life. On her social media pages subsequently, she appeared to give the middle finger to her detractors when she displayed Mozambican and Nigerian flags to uphold her true heritage.
In a statement earlier, she had claimed to have been born in Soweto and raised there until she moved to Cape Town, but this raised questions over inability to as to speak even one South African vernacular language.
At the time, the Miss SA pageant organisers did not want to say anything right up to the moment when they released a statement to announce that Adetshina had stepped down. South Africans took the organisers to task over their selection processes which seemed to have been found wanting in this case. Meanwhile, the rules were relaxed in 2023 to include women with children, married women and divorcees as long as they were 30 and below.
In another turn of events, Adetshina was given a lifeline by the organisers of the Miss Universe Nigeria pageant who asked to participate in theirs instead. Surprisingly, this development seemed to irk some Nigerians, who believed it to be unfair that other contestants had worked hard to reach the finale – and appeared to oppose the organisers’ overture to Adetshina. Meanwhile, South Africa was mocked by some Nigerians over what they termed an irony – the choosing of a white person to take the crown while having questioned the eligibility of an African contestant. Le Roux worked full-time as a marketing manager for a start-up company prior to entering the competition. She is also studying for a Bachelor of Commerce degree part time with the University of South Africa. The runner-up was Soweto’s Nompumelelo Maduna.
An overwhelmed Le Roux said she was delighted to wear the Mowana (“Tree of Life”) crown from Nungu Diamonds at the spectacular 66th pageant. She received R1 million in cash in a prize and sponsorship package that includes the use of an apartment at the lavish Brookfield at Royal in Kensington, developed by Tricolt, for the year of her reign, all stocked with homeware and accessories by Woolworths Home and furniture by Schönn.
In her acceptance speech Le Roux said: “I am deeply touched by the trust and confidence that South Africa has placed in me.
“As a little girl I never would have thought that someone like me could become Miss South Africa. It is extremely powerful what this could mean to other little girls – that even if you have something that makes you different, you still can achieve your dreams with determination and hard work”.
Stephanie Weil, CEO of the Miss South Africa Organisation, extended her congratulations to the new queen, saying: “Mia embodies the Miss South Africa Organisation’s ethos that if you can dream it, you can achieve it. She also embraces and personifies the organisation’s four pillars – duty, championship, empowerment and beauty, so I can think of no-one more fitting to wear the crown and we can’t wait to see what she achieves during her reign”.
She also congratulated runner-up Maduna as well as the other finalists who gave it their all and made the final decision so difficult for the judges. The all-female judging line-up included Rolene Strauss (winner of Miss South Africa and Miss World 2014); actress, presenter, voice artist, model, author and entrepreneur Leandie du Randt; former Miss South Africa Jo-Ann Strauss; Queen of Soweto Lerato Kganyago and actress, musician, multimedia personality and model Thembi Seete.
Bonang Matheba was the pageant’s host while entertainment was provided by Jesse Clegg, Kamo Mphela, Lebo Mashile, Zoë Modiga and sign language activist Andiswa Gebashe. Anel Botha, Gert-Johan Coetzee, Londeka Buthelezi-Ndaba and Lydia Mbayo dressed the contestants. Fittingly for Women’s Month (August), almost all of those involved in the event were women.
For the third year in a row, Black Swan Media’s Relebogile Mabotja, produced the live show while directing duties was again undertaken by international technical director Nadia White.
