At the conclusion of the finale of Miss Lesotho 2017, sponsored by the Sunday Express, held at Victory Hall in Moshoeshoe II, Mpoi Mahao was crowned as the winner. Mpoi will now represent Lesotho at the Miss World 2017 pageant. Mpoi managed to bag the title after defeating 25 other contenders.
At the same pageant, Lintle Masasa was titled first runner-up and Refiloe Pitso was adjudged the second runner-up. Mpoi, who was confident throughout the contest, looked excited after winning the title and shared with the Sunday Express, after her victory, that it was her previous experience in pageantry that made her win the title last night. She had previously won the Miss NUL and Miss Intervarsity 2016 titles.
“I have slightly lost two titles in the past after clinching the first princess titles in the Miss Maseru 2014 and Face of Lesotho 2015. I took my time to prepare for this pageant from the moment I signed up for it at the beginning of this year and I have not competed in any pageant since then,” said Mahao.
She also shared that previous victories never gave her an edge over other girls in this contest as she thought all the contestants were well groomed and that she had a stiff competition. She thought that the competition was tough with a number of experienced beauty queens. But it was the support from her family, friends and fans and the crowd that constantly cheered for her that she walked through the contest with confidence.
“There were times I felt like giving up when we were rehearsing about three weeks ago. But then I felt throwing in the towel before the pageant even starts would make me a loser. I prayed so hard for God to give me strength and through His mercy, I won,” shared Mahao.
Mpoi Mahao is a second-year student of Humanities at the National University of Lesotho. Mpoi now has a good approx one year to get groomed for the Miss World 2017 pageant. By winning the title, Mpoi has also won a six-month industrial training opportunity at Africa Media Holdings, the publishers of the Lesotho Times and Sunday Express, who were also sponsoring the pageant.
Also Read : Barbara Filipovic of Croatia competing for Miss Universe 2016 title
Congratulations to the newly crowned Miss Lesotho. Coming back to your valuable feedback, what is your take on Mpoi Mahao? Do you think Mahao has what it takes to be the next Miss World?