ONLY ONE of the 19 remaining finalists will be crowned Miss Rwanda 2022, but the rest of the contestants will hopefully return home hungrier for a crown even if they win it elsewhere.
In reference to the past contestants’ experience, Miss Rwanda has established itself as a platform that has given a number of contestants the package that helps them impress at continental beauty pageants.
From where they have impressed to where they still lag behind, The New Times assesses how Miss Rwanda contestants fare at international beauty pageants.
Fiona Muthoni Ntarindwa
Even though she lost the crown to Miss Rwanda 2015 winner Doriane Kundwa, Muthoni took pride in becoming the third runner-up, a title that she, in the past, said not only came as a surprise but also opened many doors.
Her Miss Rwanda package inspired her to try chances to see if she could win a crown elsewhere…and she succeeded when she was crowned Miss Africa beauty pageant back in 2017.
Muthoni at the time pocketed $10,000 (about Rwf8.5 million) and had her projects implemented in her home country Rwanda, Nigeria, Ghana and other African countries.
The 28-year-old is now a news anchor at CNBC Africa.
Shanita Umunyana
Most young women who compete at Miss Rwanda think it’s over when they miss out on the crown. However, it has not been the case for Shanita Umunyana when she narrowly lost to Elsa Iradukunda only to become the first runner-up.
The 22-year-old has on many occasions proved that she is a young woman who in her nature does not accept to give up. When she loses, she tries again and, in the end, it paid off when she was crowned Miss East Africa 2021 in December last year.
Upon scooping the crown, Umunyana walked away with a brand new Nissan x trail car 2021 version worth $ 44,000 and will get a monthly pay of $1,500 which she will get within a period of 12 months.
Besides the crown, she also holds the Miss Supranational Rwanda 2019 title which earned her a ticket to represent the country at Miss Supranational 2019 held in Poland.
She also represented the country at Miss University Africa in 2018 and scooped three awards for ‘’The President’s Choice Award”, "Best Video Presentation Award” and "Best Social Work Award”.
Phiona Umwiza
What Miss Rwanda contestants have in common is that they rarely return home empty-handed when they participate at various continental beauty contests, and Umwiza is no exception.
The Miss Rwanda 2020 first runner-up was in December, crowned 4th runner up of the Miss University Africa 2021 beauty pageant in Nigeria before adding one more crown for the same pageant’s East Africa chapter (Miss University Africa-East Africa).
She was representing Rwanda in the annual international beauty pageant where she was vying for a crown with other African countries 54 delegates all over Africa in Nigeria.
Aurore Mutesi Kayibanda
A year after winning Miss Rwanda 2012 crown, Mutesi knew she had all it takes to win more crowns at the international level. She did it in Congo Brazzaville the following year when she participated and went on to be crowned Miss Pan Africa Music Festival (FESPAM), a cultural and scientific event held every two years to promote African and Diaspora music.
Apart from the undisclosed cash, she got prizes including travel packages to France, Brazil and Egypt.
Success at global beauty pageants remains a dream
Rwandan beauty queens managed to impress at international beauty contests, especially on the continental level. However, this has not been the case when it comes to global beauty contests.
For instance, no Rwandan beauty queen has managed to at least make it in the top 10 of Miss World since 2016 when Jolly Mutesi became the first beauty queen to represent Rwanda at the global beauty contest.
Since Mutesi, neither of the Miss Rwanda crown winners, from Elsa Iradukunda and Liliane Iradukunda to Meghan Nimwiza and Grace Ingabire, managed to impress which has got many Rwandans question the package that Miss Rwanda organisers give to their contestants.
The same goes to Miss Supranational international, which no Rwandan has managed to win a single title.
Rwandan representatives may have participated at the beauty pageant without passing through the Miss Rwanda management, but the likes of Colombe Akiwacu and Shanita Umunyana used their Miss Rwanda experience when they took part at the annual beauty pageant which takes place in Poland.
The pageant is struggling to produce beauty queens with potential to challenge for crowns at global beauty pageants like Miss World as Rwanda representatives blame lack of experience and the fact that Rwanda is still new at the contest while others think they lack support to shine at the international stage.