 | |
| Formation | July 13, 2013; 12 years ago (2013-07-13) |
|---|---|
| Type | Beauty pageant |
| Headquarters | Durban |
| Location | |
| Membership | Miss Grand International |
Official language | English |
National directors |
|
Miss Grand Zimbabwe was a Zimbabwean female nationalbeauty pageant founded in 2013 by formerMiss Zimbabwe Samantha Tshuma.[1][2][3] The contest's winners represent the country at theMiss Grand International pageant.[1][2][3] In 2014, Tshuma relinquished her post as director for her partner, Chris Vukani Mhlanga.[4][5] After two consecutive years of scandal, the partnership with Miss Grand International was terminated the following year[6] and the license was later purchased by Culvin Mavunga in 2016 but no representative was sent that year.[7]
Zimbabwe only participated in the Miss Grand International pageant in 2013 and 2014,[8][9] and its 2013 representative, Samantha Thsuma, was named the final-20.[8] After that, another national pageant winner, Miss Zimbabwe Grand, was expected to participate but withdrew.[10][11]
In addition to Thailand, Zimbabwe is one of the few countries that separately held its Miss Grand national contest to select the representative for Miss Grand International in 2013. This inaugural edition of Miss Grand Zimbabwe was organized at the Gardens Restaurant in the city ofBulawayo under the directorship of formerMiss Zimbabwe 2010, Samantha Tshuma, and a 22-years-old model representingBulawayo, Fungai Mawada, was announced the winner at a contest held on July 13, outclassing 15 other finalists.[1][2][3]
Nevertheless, Mawada was later disqualified on September 2 by the director Samantha Tshuma, who nominated herself as the country representative at such an international contest and additionally stated that all 16 participating models were not suitable for the international competition,[1][2] causing her to receive negative opinions from several regional licensees.[1] Tshuma was placed as the Top 20 finalist in the swimsuit competition at theMiss Grand International 2013 pageant, which was held in Thailand on November 19.[4]
The following year, the Miss Grand Zimbabwe organization was also embroiled in a similar scandal when the new franchise holder,Chris Vukani Mhlanga, who was the partner of a former 2013 national licensee, unveiled a new country representative,Lillie Chopamba, to replaceMarble Nyathi, one of the finalists who had been nominated fromBulawayo to represent the country at theMiss Grand International 2014 inBangkok.[4][5][12] Mhlanga claimed Nyathi's body was not good enough for the international pageant; however, Nyathi argued that she was removed because she refused Mhlanga'slove proposal as well as some financial issues between her and the organizer.[4][5][13][14] Zimbabwe was then absent from the Miss Grand International from 2015 to 2024, although there was the other national pageant with a similar name, Miss Zimbabwe Grand, has been held annually since 2019 to determine the winners for several international platforms, but has no affiliation with Miss Grand International.[15][16]
After a 10-year hiatus, Zimbabwe is expected to make a return in 2025 under the directorship of Ntombi Gumede and her daughter, Tumi Jiane.[6][17]
The Miss Grand Zimbabwe pageant was held as a stand-alone contest only once, that is, in 2013.
| Edition | Date | Final venue | Entrants | Result | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1st runner-up | 2nd runner-up | |||||
| 1st | 13 July 2013 | Gardens Restaurant,Bulawayo | 16 | Fungai Mawada (Bulawayo) | Nothando Ncube (Matabeleland South) | Grace Ncube (Matabeleland North) | [3][18] |
The following is a list of Zimbabwe representatives at theMiss Grand International contest.
| Year | Miss Grand Zimbabwe | Original Title[i] | Placement | Special Awards | National Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Chelsea Rose Mandizha[19] | Appointed | Unplaced[20] | Ntombifuthi Gumede[6][17] | |
| Did not compete between 2022-2024 | |||||
| 2021 | Scholastica Makoni[10] | Miss Zimbabwe Grand 2021 | The organizer did not hold the license of Miss Grand International forZimbabwe. | Farai Zembeni | |
| 2020 | Kimberly Mayoyo[11] | Miss Zimbabwe Grand 2020 | |||
| Did not compete between 2017-2019 | |||||
| 2016 | Dion Cooper[7] | Miss Grand Zimbabwe 2016[ii] | Did not compete | Culvin Mavunga | |
| Did not compete in 2015 | |||||
| 2014 | Marble Nyathi[4] | Appointed | Did not compete | Chris Vukani Mhlanga | |
| Lillie Chopamba[5] | Appointed | Unplaced[9] | |||
| 2013 | Fungai Mawada[3] | Miss Grand Zimbabwe 2013 | Did not compete | Samantha Thsuma[1] | |
| Samantha Thsuma[2] | Miss Zimbabwe 2010 | Top 20[8] | |||
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