SILENCE CHARUMBIRA MISS Zimbabwe, Bongani Dlakama, on Saturday walked away empty-handed from the Miss World contest in Mongolia, China, after failing to impress at the global competition. Dlakama faced a daunting task after her predecessor Malaika Mushandu shined at the same level in England last year, reaching the top 10. Miss China, Wenxia Yu, was crowned Miss World, while Sophie Elizabeth Moulds from Wales, was the 1st runner-up, with Australia’s Jessica Michelle Kahawaty, becoming the 2nd runner-up. The beauty queen’s poor run could be attributed to the woes that Miss Zimbabwe Trust faced towards the holding of the national event this year. It took the Trust almost three months to come up with the prizes for the winners and no significant grooming was done for the model as compared to previous beauty queens. Patron of the Miss Zimbabwe Trust, Kiki Divaris, yesterday said she would not speak on behalf of Dlakama. “She was there, she will speak for herself. Malaika (Mushandu) did well last year, maybe because she had more depth, but there is politics at play out there. everyone must know that,” she said. Divaris said Dlakama would now be involved in charity work at the forthcoming United Nations World Tourism General Assembly scheduled for next year in Victoria Falls.
