Bulawayo beauty is crowned Miss Zimbabwe

Bulawayo beauty queen Bongani Dhlakama is the new Miss Zimbabwe after shrugging off 28 other contestants. Dhlakama was crowned at the finals of the pageant held at the Harare International Conference Centre last Friday.

Petina Nhamburo was capped first princess and Ruvimbo Katiyo, second princess. Plaxedes Gororo of Mashonaland Central was crowned Miss Personality. The prizes for the four were not announced at the event.

The contest, which reverted to the management of the Miss Zimbabwe Trust after spending about six years under the ambit of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, experienced several glitches, among them a low turnout.

It was scheduled to kick off at 8pm, but only got underway an hour-and-a-half later. The lighting was superb, save for the side screens which were poorly lit and only reflected a dark shadow of what was happening on the main stage.

There were also long breaks in between the event that was held under the theme, “I am Zimbabwean”. Despite the hitches, all the artistes billed to perform put up a splendid show. Traditional dance performers set the ball rolling followed by Adiona Maboreke who put up a sizzling performance.

Songstress Cindy Munyavi was simply remarkable while fellow urban-groover Roki sent the crowd into a wild frenzy with yesteryear hits such as, “Chidzoka” and “Usandikanganwe”. His ex-wife, Pauline Gundidza, provided the backing vocals.

Not to be outdone was up-and-coming urban groover Ba Shupi, whose performance could have easily been mistaken for that of a veteran. Superstar Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi kept the audience on their feet.

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