Lady Luck with a crown
Could Lesego Chombo be the luck charm, as her name implies, of what Miss Botswana has been waiting for?
When the reigning Miss World 2021, Karolina Bielawska, who was at the Miss Botswana finals a few days ago, hugged the new Botswana queen, Lesego Chombo, superstitions were already flying around that the act will repeat itself when she crowns her successor, the 71st
Miss World, in April next year. That the Lesego is a vernacular name for ‘ luck’ was just too much coincident that possibly, eventually, lady luck is knocking on the door. Whether this was a good omen for Botswana to finally bring home the elusive crown remains to be seen.
Chombo, an LLB graduate from the University of Botswana and a practising lawyer, has illustrated that not only is she beautiful but that she has brains as well. Poised and eloquent when she speaks, she has the sort of aura that grabs whoever she meets, and commands authority. These are the qualities that will make her stand out as she starts her journey to Miss World.
A couple of days after her big moment, Chombo, or Jesus Girl, is literally still pinching herself. She still cannot believe that the hard work that went into preparing for this big moment has paid off. she already has a clear vision about where she is heading, and what she intends to achieve.
“I am still staying at Cresta and maybe when I go home that is when I will realise that indeed this has happened,” she points out on Wednesday afternoon.
But one thing is very clear, she has learnt a great deal from former Miss Botswana, Palesa Molefe. To her Molefe was real, had unique qualities about her, and has learnt valuable lessons from her. While many are curious to know what she is bringing to the table, especially taking over from someone who set the bar that high, she is not swayed by these questions. Instead, she is articulate about what she is bringing to the crown, and wants to leave behind a legacy. The 24- year- old is multifaceted, purposeful and intentional about everything that she touches, or sets her eyes on.
As she takes over from Molefe, she explains that she learnt the importance of being true to oneself, as evidenced by everything that Molefe did during her reign. “She was not trying to be anyone, and could ululate and had her unique hairstyle,” she explains.
She points out that she does not have any plans to create another version of Molefe.
“I do not want to create another version of her,” she explains, adding that she is talented. Chombo plays the guitar, sings, bakes and seems like she can literally do anything.
“I am intentional about Miss World. I am setting the tone for my reign as Miss Botswana and what I want for Batswana,” she tells this publication.
She further says that one thing that she intends to do is to identify people who will assist her with Fast track events at the Miss World competition. Fast Track events include Miss World Beach Beauty, Beauty with a Purpose, Sports Challenge, Talent and Top Model. These events are used to fasttrack contestants into the semi finals of the competitions.
“I intend to have the right people around me,” she highlights.
Miss Botswana organiser, Benjamin Raletsatsi explains that in the coming 6 to 7 months, they will be prepping the queen for April 2023 when the new queen is crowned. He explains that one of the things that they will be working on in the coming months, is getting Batswana to understand the whole voting process on the various Apps that are used, as well as going all out to set the world ablaze before and at the Miss World finals.
“We also want to attract professionals from different fields that the queen is going to need during her reign,” he added.
He also says that the country has lost out on bidding for Miss World 2025, but that they were possibly looking at Miss World 2026.
“The government is slowly warming up to the idea, and the private sector is also seeing the possibilities. Through Miss World coming here, they have seen that this is possible,” he points out.
Meanwhile, as of October this month, over 69 Miss World contestants, including Australia, Botswana, Cameroon, France, Ghana, England, Indonesia, Liberia, Poland, Senegal, South Africa, Venezuela, as well as Zambia.