Online Reporter
Ivan Zhakata
Herald Correspondent
WOMEN’S rights advocate Iman Tadu has been crowned the Queen of Miss Pride of Africa UK 2025/26 after an electrifying finale held in London last week.
Miss Pride of Africa UK is a beauty pageant fostered to promote African beauty, unity, talent and heritage in the United Kingdom. According to the organisers, Miss Pride of Africa UK is meant to groom the African youths into women leaders to impact their communities in Africa, United Kingdom and the world at large. It is the biggest and the most prestigious African beauty pageant in the United Kingdom It enables young African ladies in the UK to have a chance to shine a spotlight on Africa.
The newly-crowned queen said the moment her name was announced felt surreal and she was filled with emotion.
“All I could think about was the love and support of everyone who made it possible for me to be on that stage. It was not just a win for me, it was a win for Zimbabwe.”
Tadu’s journey into pageantry began unexpectedly.
While coordinating fashion events with LadyBoss Events, she met the Miss Pride of Africa UK CEO by chance.
Despite having no previous pageant experience, she was encouraged to audition and, after learning about the charitable heart behind the organisation, she decided to take the leap.
“I only knew the glitz and glamour of the crowns, but once I saw the purpose behind it, something changed,” Tadu said.
Stepping into the audition room, surrounded by young African women proudly championing their heritage, she felt an immediate sense of belonging.
“That is when I realised I was in a room where I belonged,” she said.
Tadu said the biggest challenges during the competition were the technical demands and overcoming her own self-doubt.
She credited her Christian faith for helping her overcome insecurity.
“I had to realise my beauty shines because I was chosen by God to be a vessel for His love and glory. Once I embraced that, everything changed.”
Born in Zimbabwe and raised in a Zimbabwean household in the UK, Tadu said her identity remained central to her character and leadership.
“Being Zimbabwean is something I could never run away from,” she said.
“My values, integrity and respect come from how I was raised. My pageant identity is rooted in the culture that calls me a Chihera, I was born to lead.” She said hopes her story inspires young girls back home.
“You were born with a crown on your head. You are the future, and the future is unstoppable. You are a queen born to rise.”
As Queen, Tadu plans to focus on youth empowerment, particularly addressing the struggles talented young Zimbabweans face in an economy battling unemployment.
She is developing mentorship, networking and entrepreneurial programmes that will be hosted in national museums and galleries.
“These spaces hold our history, but they shouldn’t be static,” Tadu said.
“They can be hubs for innovation, growth and cultural pride.” Beyond the stage, Tadu is a filmmaker, women’s rights advocate and ambassador for Gurltalk. She works at a national museum where she has engaged UK government officials on the role of museums in youth employment and community engagement.
She also volunteers at the Black Cultural Archives and has pioneered initiatives to support Black students at her university including founding the first Black Students Career Fair and coordinating Afroshow, which celebrates African fashion and music.
Tadu said her reign will be measured not only by programmes but by personal impact.
“I want to know I made a genuine commitment to change,” she said.
“I want to build trust with the people I work with.”
Looking ahead, she envisions herself championing global recognition for Zimbabwean creatives by connecting governments, institutions and philanthropists to artistic initiatives. I want Zimbabwean art to be a global conversation. We have the power to shake the world.”
In her message to Zimbabweans at home and abroad, Tadu said:
A pageant with a Heart of Charity and a Soul of Female Empowerment. This is a highly competitive beauty pageant aimed to promote Beauty, African Unity (united we stand), talent plus heritage, and culture. The pageant is not only about Beauty its “Beauty with a purpose”.
