The Miss Rwanda regional selection came to an end at SportsView Hotel on Saturday 24 with the selection of the five girls to represent the City of Kigali. Out of the over 50 contenders that were registered in Kigali, 25 turned up and only 19 contested.
The Miss Rwanda regional selection came to an end at SportsView Hotel on Saturday 24 with the selection of the five girls to represent the City of Kigali.
Out of the over 50 contenders that were registered in Kigali, 25 turned up and only 19 contested.
Video: Miss Rwanda 2015 Kigali Audition Finalists. Source: The New Times/YouTube
Kigali’s winner is Vanessa Raissa Uwase who garnered 86.6 per cent while Belyse Hitayezu emerged second with 85 per cent.
Other winners on the evening were Annick La Chance Nyiranganzo (81.6 per cent), Jane Umutoni (81.3 per cent) and Negritta Umuhoza Rudasingwa(80.3 per cent).
Pre-selection of the finalists will be held on February 7 at Serena Hotel.
The selection that covered the country’s five provinces (Northern, Western, Southern, Eastern) and the City of Kigali saw five girls picked from each region. Only Southern Province selected four.
Speaking to The New Times after their victory, the top two beauty queens from Kigali said their eyes are now set onto the next stage.
"We are lucky to have sailed through but we still have to work a lot harder. There are many areas that we need to improve,” said Uwase, while Hitayezu added "the next stage is the most crucial as it is expected to be more competitive”.
Judge Aline Gahongaire told The New Times that this this year’s Miss Rwanda is different from the previous editions because "most girls are intelligent and they came prepared. Beauty, brains and culture (BBC) have been our focus and most girls had it all.”
She observed that that Miss Rwanda 2015 will be exceptional. For Judge John Bunyeshuli, it was an interesting experience to travel across the country, although Kigali was a bit disappointing with fewer girls turning up. "Eastern Province was great and the support was impressive as well,” he told The New Times.
"There was a lot of hype about Kigali but the turn-up didn’t meet my expectations,” he added.
Bunyeshuli, however, added that Miss Rwanda beauty pageant is still young but tremendously improving, which is a step in the right direction.
Asked about some contestants being unable to express themselves in English or French yet they choose for themselves the language they want to speak, besides Kinyarwanda, Bunyeshuli said that this could be a result of anxiety.
"To many, this is a dream; they are desperate to do anything to achieve it. There are many incentives that come with being a Miss for a country, perhaps that’s why some get anxious,” he observed.
He, however, added that those who will make it to the finals will be put in a boot camp where their public speaking skills and confidence will be sharpened.