After two weeks of upcountry selections, Miss Rwanda 2019 auditions were over the weekend held in Kigali, concluding with the selection of six lucky girls who qualified to represent the City of Kigali. The press and Miss Rwanda team gathered at Hill Top Hotel, Remera, came together on Saturday with the aim of picking out the girls that would join 31 others picked during the upcountry search. The auditions kicked off at 4.30 pm with the biggest number of wannabe contestants for the pageant registered since the search began. Eighty contestants gathered at the venue to try out their chances on the national crown. As the norm is, weight and height requirements are a must for all the contestants and in the end only 30 girls went through to face the jury led by Miss Rwanda 2016 ,Jolly Mutesi, media personalities, Michelle Iradukunda and Marie France Uwase. The jury took three hours, or so, in the hotel conference hall, challenging contestants during the Question-Answer sessions to find out who passes and who stays. This time the girls proved to be ready and more prepared for the judges’ questions compared to the previous editions given that they had enough time to prepare themselves, from the runway to the confidence they exhibited while facing the panel of judges, it appears they came ready. Reigning Miss Rwanda, Liliane Iradukunda (C), was in attendance at the Kigali auditions alongside the pageant sponsors. Photos by Eddie Nsabimana. However, there were some who had brilliant ideas for projects but failed to progress after they struggled to present them in either English or French as one of the rules of the pageant. As a result, only six girls namely Assoumpta Niyonshuti, Prayer Gakunde Iradukunda, Aline Ibyishaka, Grace Umutoni, Meghan Nimwiza and Odile Sangwa Uwase passed through to the pageant next stage. In general, the nationwide auditions have seen 37 girls picked out to represent their respective province at the national level. They include five from Northern Province, six from Western and 10 from Southern Province. The Eastern Province will be represented by 10 girls, too, while Kigali has six representatives. On Sunday, all the contestants gathered at Intare Conference Arena, Rusororo to grab their numbers that they will use during the preselection slated for January 5, 2019 where the final list of girls who will head to the boot camp at La Palisse Hotel, Nyamata, will be announced. The winner for Miss Rwanda 2019 will take over the crown from Liliane Iradukunda at the Miss Rwanda 2019 grand finale slated for January 26, 2019. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
