BEAUTY PAGEANT    MISS UGANDA

After 2 years of lockdown on events, the Miss Uganda Beauty pageant is set to return this year with a bang!

According to Brenda Nanyonjo, the CEO of Miss Uganda, preparations are already underway to give the best pageant yet.

“We are coming back in style with a reality TV show where the top contestants will battle it out for the crown in August and the winner will represent the country in the Miss World beauty pageant in December,” she said.

Nanyonjo points out the numerous challenges women have faced during these two years of the lockdown due to the COVID 19 pandemic.  “There was a rise in domestic violence, rape, and defilement, decreased income, and lots of teenage pregnancies.

 In such tough times, every woman needs a soul sister, and now is the time to rise, shake the dust off and shine again. At Miss Uganda, we are determined to reflect this amazing strength of women, help them be the best version of themselves and this will be greatly reflected in this year’s beauty pageant,” she said.

Brenda Nanyonjo, CEO of Miss Uganda

This time around, the public will play a big role in determining who wins the coveted crown. “We want you, the public to choose your queen so you will have the chance to vote and be part of the judges.

For example, contestants will be required to think outside the box, in the head-to-head challenge. “Here each one will be tasked to present their ‘Beauty with a purpose’ project to the public.  Also during the reality TV shows, the public will vote to evict or keep whichever contestant they find deserving,” she explained.

Additionally, this year will feature a grand fashion show in celebration of Kezzi entertainment managing the pageant for 10 years under the theme ‘Beauty with a purpose.

“We are bringing you the cream de la cream of Ugandan fashion designers showcasing their amazing talent. These are big names like Anita Beryl, Fatuma Asha, Bantu, Kaijuka Abaas, and many more as we work in conjunction with our talented show producer, Joram Muzira of Joram Model management, a mother agency of many Ugandan fashion models creating waves on the international scene.

Come 4 May, Miss Uganda will be officially launched and the teams will roll out for regional scouting on 13 May starting with the northern region. This time they will go to two towns, Gulu and Arua, before proceeding to Fort portal, Masaka and Mbale. There will be a Kampala pre-selection of the top 20 finalists but only 15 will make it to the grand stage.

Even though each contestant’s eye will be on the top crown, there are many other categories to be won like Miss Popularity, Miss Congeniality Social Media Queen, Rising Woman, Beach Beauty, Top model, and of course the regional queens. “In this category, we are introducing Miss West Nile this year,” Nanyonjo revealed.

The winner of the last Miss Uganda pageant which was held in 2019 is Olivia Nakakande. She went on to win the Top Model category at the Miss World beauty pageant and was featured as the cover girl for Miss World magazine. She was replaced by Elizabeth Bagaya, the reigning queen, who was chosen on merit after Nakakande went to focus on her studies.