Preparations for the Miss East Africa Rwandan chapter are in full swing, Chris Gakwaya the CEO Rwanda Events, said yesterday at La Petit Prince hotel in Kacyiru.

Rwanda Events, a local company contracted with Rena a Tanzanian company to organize Rwandan contestants for Miss East Africa beauty contest, slated for December.

Out of the 40 contestants who registered, 12-15 will be selected to start training in preparation for the final event on October 31.

"We are checking on four concerns that include modeling, expression, behavior and answering,” he Gakwaya.

According to Gakwaya, the overall winner from Rwanda will walk away with the prize of Rwf1 million, while the second runner-up be awarded Rwf500, 000.

He also said that all expenses for the two participants will be catered for while in Dar es Salaam.

Some of the beauty contestants, who have already registered include, Miss Kigali, Miss Kigali Institute of Science Technology (KIST), and Miss Kigali Health Institute (KIH).

It is the first time Rwanda will be participating in the Miss East African beauty pageant, but forth round as Rena a Tanzanian company organizes it.

In this year’s event, about 14 countries will participate for the title which is currently being held by Miss Burundi.

The countries include all countries forming-up the East African block, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Seychelles, Comoro and Mauritius among other.

Miss KIST Clarisse Nshuti said that although it was too early to make a comment, the event has been given warm welcome.

"The big number of contestants that turned-up for the first preliminary shows that the event has been appreciated,” Nshuti said.

Meanwhile, Miss East Africa 2009/2010 will walk away with a prize of Range Rover, worth US$165,000.

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