MASERU — Nomazondo Mphakisoane returned home on Saturday a broken woman after she was barred from taking part in the Miss World competition in London.
Organisers of the pageant told her they could not allow her to take part in the competition because she had arrived in the United Kingdom 10 days late.
In an interview with the Weekender this week, a visibly dejected Mphakisoane said this was the “saddest experience of my life”.
“I arrived in London quite excited only to receive the bad news. The organisers gave me a sorry smile and said, ‘Sorry but you are just too late, you have missed all the critical criterion of judging and most of the vital activities’”, Mphakisoane said.
“They told me that I could either go back home or stay to watch the crowning ceremony but I chose to come back home.”
She said the five days she spent in the UK while waiting to change her flight dates were quite miserable.
“It would have broken my heart to watch those girls on stage knowing I was supposed to be one of them. So I just decided to come back home,” Mphakisoane said.
She said the organisers told her they had sent an email telling her they would not allow her to take part because she was late.
“Unfortunately the email was sent the day I left for London and I never received it,” she said.
“The bright side to my sad story is that I was told that my spot for next year is secured so all I have to do is work hard and prepare to make Lesotho proud,” Mphakisoane said.
She said she felt like a loser when she received the bad news although it wasn’t her fault.
“This is very disappointing to my fans, family and sponsors and unfortunately I can’t blame anyone for this.
“Instead I am pleading to companies and the government to look at this as our second chance to have proper preparations for next year,” Mphakisoane said.
She however thanked her sponsors who include the Ministry of Tourism for sponsoring her trip to London.
“I hope next year they will still help raise Lesotho’s flag,” she said.
Mphakisoane said she will work hard to promote her social responsibility programmes to strengthen her chances at next year’s Miss World pageant.
“While I was there I observed that the girls who made it to the top seven were highly involved in social responsibility programmes so I am going to take this opportunity to give back to the community and help others while building my portfolio for next year,” she said.
At least 12 other delegates failed to take part in the pageant due to visa problems.
Venezuela’s Ivian Sarcos was crowned Miss World 2011 after beating beauties from 112 countries.
