Angeline Musasiwa
It turns out Miss Zimbabwe 1994, Ange­line Musasiwa, could have set the bar too high for the girls who competed for the crown in subsequent years. Having done well in the 1994 Miss World pag­eant, finish­ing in the top four, she set a  high standard. No one from Zimbabwe has gone that far in the Miss World pag­eant. Now she is married and well estab­lished in Lagos, Nigeria, where she stays with her husband, Joseph Hunda.

Brita Masalethulini
Brita Masalethulini, Miss Zimbabwe 1999, was crowned queen of the conti­nent when she won Miss Malaika in 2001. Although she did not do very well on the Miss World stage, she landed in the top 12. But being crowned Miss Malaika was a huge achievement that no one else from Zimbabwe managed to achieve during the glory days of Miss Malaika. After that, she did some charity work and then just vanished.

Vanessa Sibanda
Crowned Miss Zimbabwe in 2009. Her attempts to follow in Angeline Musasiwa’s footsteps or even better that performance were seen when she made it to the Top 12 in the Miss Beach Beauty pageant at

Miss World. Not only that, she was in the Top 20 in the talent show at Miss World. Her career did not come to a grinding halt after all this: she got a contract with South Africa’s G3 Model­ling agency. In the 2011 Top Model of the World competition in Germany, she managed to make it to the Top 3.

Malaika Mushandu
The lanky model Malaika Mushandu, who was crowned Miss Zimbabwe 2011, finished ninth at the Miss World pag­eant. She also flew the Zimbabwean flag high in March this year when she was also in the Top Model of the World pag­eant in Germany, where she was the first runner-up.

While other holders of the Miss Zim­babwe crown have managed to achieve a lot, others dodged the limelight and dis­appeared into thin air after showing their faces here and there in charity activ­ities. Here are some of the finalists since Independence:

Shirley Nyanyiwa (1981) was the first black to win the Miss Zimbabwe pag­eant after independence.
Karen Stally — 1993

Angeline Musasiwa — 1994

Dione Best — 1995

Annette Kambarami — 1996

Nomsa Ndiweni — 1997

Lorraine Magwenzi — 1998

Brita Masalethulini — 1999

Victoria Moyo — 2000

Nokhuthula Mpuli — 2001

Linda van Beek — 2002

Phoebe Monjane — 2003

Oslie Muringai — 2004

Nomusa Ndiweni — 2006

Caroline Marufu — 2007

Vanessa Sibanda — 2009

Malaika Mushandu — 2010

Bongani Dhlakama — 2011.

— Cardnus Chijongwe