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Former SMag cover star and Shaka iLembe actor, Luyanda Zuma, will have a second chance to be crowned Miss SA in Pretoria on October 25 after making the top 10 for the long-delayed 2025 instalment of the beauty pageant.
Zuma was a Miss SA top 10 finalist in 2022, the year that Ndavi Nokeri was crowned.
The 23-year-old from Pietermaritzburg is joined by other familiar media faces. Miss Soweto 2016, Nthabiseng Kgasi, 30, also made the top 10. Another Soweto-born finalist is Zanele Phakathi, 27, who was a top 16 contestant in 2019, the year that Zozibini Tunzi won it. Phakathi was also a Miss Soweto finalist in 2021.
Leading the pack is Gauteng with five finalists, while the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal are tied second with two contestants each and the Eastern Cape with one.
Zuma holds a BA in live performance from Afda and her mantra is “You are never too young to lead”.
Kgasi is a marketing manager, and her motto is “Let your ‘why’ guide you every step of the way”.
Phakathi has an advanced diploma in business information technology from the University of Johannesburg and works with the enterprise architecture team at the Public Investment Corporation. She believes that “God’s timing is perfect”.
Representing Daveyton is Nelly Mashile, 28, who obtained her medical degree in Cuba and her surgery degree from Wits University. Having first entered Miss SA in 2023, she returned to represent children from disadvantaged backgrounds. She hopes to inspire with her message of “Dream big, reality will be bigger”.
Lebo Msimanga, 27, from Empangeni, holds a BCom in economics and marketing from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She works as a client manager and professional model. Her motto is “Stick to the plan, not your mood”.
Bridgette Jones, 28, a flight attendant from Bridgetown in Athlone, Cape Town, is studying management online through the German International University of Applied Sciences. She believes that “No-one gets left behind”.
Cape Town-born Ghee-Ann Rademan, 23, holds a BA in industrial psychology from Stellenbosch University. She registered as a mental health professional and launched an online counselling platform for young women. Her message to South Africans is “I’m here to love and serve”.
Gizelle Venske from Vanderbijlpark in the Vaal, is a qualified chartered accountant. “A woman who follows the crowd is likely to go no further than the crowd, but a woman who follows her own footsteps is likely to find herself in places no-one else has ever been,” the 27-year-old said.
Karabo Mareka, 28, from Alexandra township works as a flight attendant. Mareka entered Miss SA to be a “beacon of hope for young South Africans who, like me, are unable to further their education due to financial constraints”.
Qhawekazi Mazaleni, 24, from Gonubie, East London, holds a degree in speech, language and hearing therapy and is pursuing a master’s in speech language pathology at the University of Pretoria, focusing on autism. Mazaleni’s focus is on “bridging cultural and linguistic gaps in speech therapy and being informed of our political, economic and social worlds”.
Nokeri, as a judge, joined by investigative journalist Devi Sankaree Govender and broadcaster Liezel van der Westhuizen, picked the top 10 finalists − Sowetan.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter