HALALA, LALELA, HALALA!
A CLOUD of Zulu maidens dancing in a unified traditional sequence, followed by a sprinkle of light rain created the perfect milieu for the homecoming of a true African queen.
Proud Zululanders, esteemed politicians, and royalty rolled out the red carpet to welcome home reigning Miss South Africa and Miss Universe second runner-up Lalela Mswane.
The beauty queen, ballerina and bachelor of law graduate arrived in Zululand on Friday to celebrate her wins with her community in a series of homecoming activities.
‘I’m truly excited to be back home after the immense support I received in the build up to Miss SA and Miss Universe, and particularly because we haven’t had the crown in KZN since 2008.
‘It makes it that much more special. And for little girls in KZN to know that if I can do it, so can they,’ said Mswane.
Her first stop in Zululand was at the King Cetshwayo matric awards ceremony at Empangeni town hall, where she motivated a large audience of top matric achievers.
During her keynote address, she encouraged entrepreneurship among the school leavers.
‘Dream big and work hard. Work boldly in pursuit of your dreams. I challenge you to aspire to be an employer as opposed to an employee,’ she said.
At the ceremony were King Cetshwayo District Mayor Thami Ntuli, uMhlathuze Mayor Xolani Ngwezi, municipal managers, and officials from the Department of Education.
On Saturday, Mswane travelled to the Royal House to visit King Misuzulu kaZwelithini, while on Sunday, the title holder travelled to her hometown of KwaSokhulu for a homecoming event at the sport ground.
Exploring Zululand's tourism gems
Mswane took some time during her jam-packed weekend schedule to explore some of Zululand’s tourism experiences, courtesy of Tourism KZN (TKZN).
This included some downtime at 5-star luxury resort MfulaWozi Wilderness in Hluhluwe where she was treated to world class spa treatments, game drives and mouth-watering cuisine.
‘We are thrilled to have KZN-born Miss SA back in the province. Her journey has inspired us all and we wanted to take this time to show her the beauty of her home province so she can always be reminded that there’s no place like the Zulu Kingdom,’ said TKZN senior manager PR and communications Pinky Radebe.