Former Miss Rwanda contestant Yasipi Casmir Uwihirwe will represent in Miss Africa Calabar pageant scheduled for December 27 in Nigeria.

The Miss Rwanda 2019 First Runner-up was in the final run for the ticket to represent Rwanda in the continental pageant with Irène Murebwayire, emerging the selected first choice.

In Nigeria, she will compete for the crown with girls from different African countries. The search for Rwanda’s representative began on October 25, 2020 where five girls were selected from eight others who participated in the auditions.

Uwihirwe is upbeat about representing the country in the contest, saying that she hopes to put in her best to emerge the continental winner.

"It’s a pleasure for me to be the one picked to represent Rwanda. I want to thank the people who supported me. Now that I am going to represent Rwanda, I will do my best to win the crown. I will be at my very best and I believe I will be victorious,” Uwihirwe said.

Uwihirwe will follow in the footsteps of Tania Muvunyi who represented Rwanda in the Miss Africa Calabar 2019, the fifth edition of the pageant. Natasha Irebe similarly represented Rwanda in 2018 while in 2017, it was Fiona Muthoni Naringwa who emerged first runner up, beaten to the crown by Botswana’s Gaseangwe Balopi.

Uwihirwe, 19, received the most votes, beating Murebwayire, 23, to the ticket to represent Rwanda at the annual continental beauty contest organised by the Nigerian Cross River State. It aims at promoting lifestyle through fashion, beauty, nature, and charity.

Voting by the public was done via Miss Africa Calabar’s website where each vote was one dollar (USD 1) for those who wanted to vote for their favourite contestant.

This year’s edition will bring together contestants representing 25 different countries across Africa, including host nation Nigeria.

The winner of this year’s pageant edition will be announced during the contest’s glamourous grand finale on December 27 in Calabar, Nigeria.

She will replace Kenya’s Irene Irene Ng’endo Mukii, last year’s crown winner, and will walk away with a cash prize of USD 50, 000 (Rwf48 million) to successfully implement her project and a brand new Ford SUV.

Uwihirwe earlier told The New Times that if she won, she would invest in kids’ talent to shape their professional careers at a young age. Uwihirwe is also renowned for a number of talents including singing and dancing traditional Rwandan songs.