Miss World Zim calls for auditions

By Sharon Maguwu

Auditions for Miss World Zimbabwe will commence on Friday and run for three days at the Bulawayo Rainbow Hotel followed by those in Harare — which will take place from February 18-20 and February 25-27 at the Miss Zimbabwe Trust Head Offices in Highlands.

Running under the theme, “Celebrating the Life of our Icon, Kiki Divaris”, the finale will be held on April 16 at the Borrowdale Brooke Golf Course.

Speaking to the Daily News, Miss Zimbabwe Trust programmes and communications manager Tendai Chirau said they were searching for new faces and those who contested last year are not welcome.

“Someone who got into boot camp last year is not welcome, especially those who walked on the ramp on the finale. There is no guarantee that they will make it and we want them to give new faces a chance.”

The auditions will only be held in the country’s largest two capital cities, Harare and Bulawayo.

“We are only holding auditions in Harare and Bulawayo because we realised that is where most people are. When we held the auditions, the smaller provinces had six or seven people coming through and in terms of resources it was not making sense.

“Yes, people might complain and say it is not fair but the distances between Zimbabwe’s cities and towns are not that big and we are holding the auditions for three days, giving people ample time to prepare and travel,” said Chirau.

Last year, and the year before, the pageant was rocked by leaked nude picture scandals, with initial winner, Emily Kachote dragging the Trust to the High Court over unfair dismissal.

Kachote was said to have nude pictures circulating — but no one at the Trust ever saw them and the issue is still in court.

In 2013, Thabiso Phiri stepped down also due to leaked nude pictures.

“We introduced a new clause on the contract that anyone who lies to the Trust will be sued and made to pay damages. It is not only about the Kachote issue but it is about promoting morality and honesty among the girls. This is just not a pageant; we will be nurturing the girls as well. We do not want them to think that they can just lie and get away with it.

“To ensure that we do not encounter the same challenges as the previous years, we will conduct thorough background checks. We cannot reveal the methods to the public but we will do background checks differently.”

Boot camp will commence on March 15 at the Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare. Daily News