Bokang Montjane gives Miss SA finalists advice ahead of big show
The Miss SA 2019 ceremony is just hours away and former winner Bokang Montjane-Tshabalala has some words of wisdom for the finalists.
Miss South Africa will crown its next beauty queen on Friday and we're crossing fingers that one of KwaZulu-Natal's three finalists come home with the crown.
Chatsworth's Xia Narain, former Umhlanga resident Danielle Wallace, and Margate's Lisa Stoffela are all in this year's pageant and ready to make us proud.
Our Entertainment team spoke to a Miss SA 2010 Bokang Montjane-Tshabalala about what the finalists can expect.
We bumped into to Bokang back in July when the Top 16 For Miss South Africa was unveiled at an exciting announcement ceremony held in Multichoice City in Johannesburg.
We weren't aware of it at the time, but Bokang had actually played a crucial role in choosing the Top 16. She adjudicated the top 35 and helped the panel choose the 16 women who would be competing for the crown on Women’s Day.
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“I was one of the judges who chose them, I am extremely happy and very satisfied. We judged fairly and eventually, we came out with the best. This process is so tough picking the girls and I find it very hard to say ‘no!’ to the girls because I’ve been there and I know how much you want it," she said.
Bokang says she believes that every crown has a name written on it. "It was decided while you were in your mother’s womb!”
The 33-year-old says the person who wins the coveted title has to be hungry for it.
“If you want it you have to go after it. As judges, we can see girls who are hungry for it and my advice is if you want it, show how hungry you are and go after it. I’ve always told girls to be aggressive with their dreams and you need to bring it all out and show people who you are," she said.
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One of the Miss SA 2019 themes is female empowerment.
We also spoke to Nthabiseng Phoshoko, the commercial director and spokesperson for LFP, to find out what women empowerment means for the pageant’s head sponsor.
“The power is in our hands and our time is now. As a brand that stands for youth and female empowerment, we are so excited to back initiatives such as Miss South Africa as a platform to give rise to phenomenal females in South Africa.”
Miss South Africa 2019 will take place at the Times Square Sun Arena in Pretoria on Women’s Day, August 9.
M-Net and Mzansi Magic will broadcast the show live from 5:00pm.
You can also follow the official Miss SA Instagram and Twitter accounts for minute-by-minute updates.