Miss Botswana sheds tears of joy in Serowe

The newly crowned Miss Botswana 2019, Oweditse Gofaone Phirinyane (25) was overcome with emotion during her homecoming and farewell event at Serowe main kgotla on October 10.

Facing a sizeable crowd that had filled up the kgotla seating arena, Serowe-born Phirinyane also known as ‘Fafah’, was in her home village for home coming and to bid farewell before leaving for the Miss World pageant to be held in London on December 14.

The self-assured and talented Phirinyane was crowned the 53rd Miss Botswana during a glamorous event held in Selebi Phikwe on September 21.

The pageant was held outside Gaborone for the first time and will be held in the town for the next five years in an effort to help market the SPEDU region, which became economically challenged following the closure of the BCL mine.

She said being crowned Miss Botswana was not only about individual victory, but it represented national pride, her home village Serowe, parents and central district.

She said the Miss Botswana pageant had a huge potential to create jobs for young Batswana, especially in the creative industry, while it offered young women opportunities that they would not have had otherwise.

Phirinyane promised to do her best in London and requested support from all Batswana, adding that any young woman wearing the Miss Botswana crown should be proud and be a good ambassador for the country.

Showering praises, words of encouragement and hope messages, most elders said the queen formed part of the historical moment.

In his welcome remarks, Deputy Regent of Gammangwato, Kgosi Serogola Seretse, said Phirinyane made Serowe and the country proud, adding that such a historic event needed to be recorded.

“Her parents and elder brothers played their roles in raising her, oblivious that they were raising the future queen of the republic,” he said.

Kgosi Seretse said all stakeholders, including Serowe residents, had a role to play to improve the pageant and bring it back to its glory and glamour days.

Serowe District Officer, Collen Tubego thanked all those who participated in assisting the queen, appreciating them for their dedication and commitment.

The organiser of Miss Botswana, Tamati Ramatlhakwana noted that they were busy preparing for the Miss World , revealing that the bulk of the work for the queen was the beauty with a purpose project.

She encouraged those with the means to come forth and help the pageant, stressing that ‘we should all contribute as at the end of the day, our country gets to shine’.

The queen’s uncle, Flex Malabola said Phirinyane was raised like any other Motswana child, but from a tender age, she distinguished herself as a disciplined young lady, who managed her affairs very well.

He said she started modeling when doing standard one and won Miss Heritage in 2017.

Various pastors likened the newly crowned queen’s journey to Miss World to the victory of the Biblical Joshua against the Amalekites. ENDS 

Source : BOPA

Author : Tshiamiso Mosetlha

Location : SEROWE

Event : Miss Botswana 2019

Date : Oct 13 Sun,2019

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