Inside the Miss Botswana debacle
Sharon Mathala | Friday August 5, 2016 12:18
From “she is not black enough to represent Botswana”, “she is not cultural enough” to her family ties, and political affiliations, to the awarding of prizes to winners, the Miss Botswana brand has been marred in one controversy after the other, over the years. This year, however, the pageant seemed to have turned a corner and broken from the trend. News broke that the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture (MYSC) who had in the past been one of the sponsors of the pageant, would this year take a bigger stake in the event. Analysts believed this was the ministry’s way of rescuing the sinking ship that lately has been the Miss Botswana brand. Things seemed to be going swimmingly for this year’s Golden Jubilee Miss Botswana, but, according to insiders, matters took a twist when the competition narrowed down to the top 12. The drama played out before the nation watching a delayed broadcast of the pageant on Botswana Television, which, combined with the popularity of social media, meant that everyone had an opinion about the fairness of the competition. The controversy over Kenosi’s win has been marred and essentially, these are the burning points critics have pointed to. Initially the license holders Botswana Council of Women (BCW) contracted five judges for this year’s pageant. The judges were former Miss Botswana, Tapiwa Preston, make-up artist, Tlhomamo Diamond, the BCW’s Bogadi Ngwako and Dorcas Thobega as well as local media guru, Boitshwarelo Lebang. This panel of judges was involved from the scouting, to the auditions, to the top 30 all the way to the final cut, being the top 12. However, when the competition progressed to the boot camp, a shocker was revealed when two of the judges were dropped and replaced by two others. The reasons why the judges were dropped have not been made clear by the BCW. When asked about the change in judges, BCW spokesperson Tshepo Maphanyane told Mmegi: “It is not a surprise that the judges were changed at the last minute. It is not even about expertise, who can do what and how.” “We have had many others come in at different stages, so the change of judges should not be a surprise.” But insiders sing a different song. According to sources within, BCW was pressured by MYSC to rope in fresh judges at the 11th hour. “The original panel was contracted to judge until the night of the crowning. This then means that those dropped are going to be paid for a job they did not do.”
Social media blew up this week after pictures of Kenosi, showing her tattoos, went viral. Many called for her to be stripped of the crown, saying Miss World rules prohibited contestants from having tattoos.
However, Mmegi found that in terms of body ink, the Miss World rules and regulations state that a contestant can have body art as long as it is not visible. This, however, puts Kenosi at risk when going into the Miss World competition scheduled for later this year. In an interview this week, the newly crowned Miss Botswana refused to acknowledge that she indeed has tattoos.
“I will not confirm nor deny that I have them.” Those close to her have revealed that she has a cross sign tattoo on her neck and another around her ribs which is alleged to be a message to her father.
The question and answer segment of the Miss Botswana competition is always a generator of controversy. In April 2013, a Miss Botswana finalist, Sharon Seno, caused heated debate when she answered a question by stating that “homosexuality is a disease”. Kenosi has equally received harsh criticism for her answer, which some say should have disqualified her from winning the title. Kenosi was asked to suggest a solution to youth unemployment and in response, she mentioned the Economic Stimulus Programme, provoking boos and jeers from the audience. She later told Mmegi: “When I was answering my question, I wanted to highlight an already existing strategy and use it as an example and further elaborate on solutions, which can be embarked upon”. She further added that it was not easy standing in front of thousands of people, who are listening and watching every move you make. But why did the crowd boo Kenosi when she gave the answer? This could simply be because the ESP programme is a hotly divisive issue for many, with some viewing it as a Godsend by government, while others view it as a ruling party gimmick to shore up votes for the 2019 general elections. Where government and those in support say the ESP is creating thousands of citizen jobs, critics say these are either non-existent or limited to ruling party functionaries and their sympathisers.
The minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, Thapelo Olopeng when announcing that they would be “taking over” Miss Botswana, said this would be a two-year contract to set standards for the Miss Botswana brand. He explained that the pageant, which is supposed to epitomise the beauty of our nation, had been turned into a circus and blamed this on previously contracted organisers whom he said had failed to live up to expectations. MYSC then formed a committee led by one Tiny Bolokwe to make sure the event ran accordingly. Their task was to seek sponsorship and ensure that the queen was awarded all her prizes. This year, Kenosi won P300,000 in cash and many other prizes. Insiders have, however, revealed that the committee was at one point at loggerheads with BCW for the takeover. BCW is said to have had no say in many important decisions around this year’s pageant, because MYSC had the ‘Pula Power’. MYSC is yet to respond to the allegations. Kenosi will attend the 66th edition of Miss World, which will be held in November in Washington DC. The reigning Miss World 2015, Mireia Lalaguna, is Spanish and is expected to hand over the crown.