Miss SA thrilled to scoop beauty crown

“I REALLY wasn’t expecting it, which is why I started crying (when I was crowned). I was so shocked because I was already so fulfilled and blessed to have made the top three. So, for me, taking the title is genuinely just the cherry on top.”

So said the newly crowned Miss SA Lalela Mswane, who yesterday woke up to a busy media schedule including a press conference with two of her fellow pageant contestants.

The 24 year old – who hails from KwaSokhulu in Richards

Bay – graduated with a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Pretoria. She is also a model and a dancer.

Mswane received R1 million in cash as well as a further R3 million worth of sponsorships and prizes, including the use of a fully furnished and serviced apartment at the luxurious Central Square Sandton, with fabulous interior décor by Vursa, and a Mercedes Benz C-class sedan for the year of her reign.

The two runners-up were Moratwe Masima, a doctor from Midrand in Gauteng, and BCom law degree student Zimi Mabunzi from eQonce (King William’s Town), Eastern Cape.

The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture yesterday congratulated Mswane, with Minister Nathi Mthethwa saying: “We wish Ms Lalela Mswane all the best in her reign as Miss South Africa and we trust that she will represent the country very well. She certainly embodies the leadership qualities that are key to making an impact in the world as an ambassador of this country.”

Mswane said her role now was to encourage and to inspire others.

“I intend to live by every word I have expressed and to serve, lead and represent our beautiful nation to the best of my abilities,” she said.