Miss SA (Glamfuel)
As the reigning Miss South Africa 2021, Mswane will be participating in the 70th Miss Universe pageant to be held in December in Eilat, Israel, where Andrea Meza of Mexico will crown her successor at the end of the event.
Miss South Africa Organisation CEO Stephanie Weil said that she was aware there were statements indicating that Mswane had pulled out but that these were completely unfounded and untrue.
With all the misinformation and fake news around, Weil added that the Miss South Africa Organisation was also thrilled to be able to make Lalela’s childhood dream – to wear the crown while representing her country globally – come true.
Mswane has spoken out openly about being bullied as a child and will not be bullied as an adult against fulfilling her ambition.
Weil said a “very, very small, but extremely vocal, group” had attempted, and failed, to derail Mswane’s chances at the prestigious international pageant.
As the reigning Miss South Africa, she will join participants from close on 70 countries in this contest and will represent South Africa to the best of her ability.
“We are not a political organisation and the Miss Universe pageant is not a politically inspired event,” Weil concluded.
A few hours after the announcement that Miss SA will indeed compete, a statement was issued by the Human Rights organisation #Africa4Palestine.
They said It was clear to them that there are divisions within the organization and company of Miss South Africa, as they had been reliably informed of Miss SA's withdrawal from the upcoming pageant in Israel.
The organization says it seems that there has been interference and pressure, with Miss South Africa now making a u-turn and reversing the withdrawal decision.
The organization wants the Miss Universe pageant to be boycotted due to Israel's so-called apartheid policies that are well documented by Amnesty International.
The Miss SA organisation reiterated that they do not engage in politics.
