How realistic are Julitha’s chances at Miss World?

Nancy Sumari remains a unique case in the 23 years of Miss Tanzania. Photo|File

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Organisers say their hands were forced into this unorthodox method due to the delay of getting clearance from the National Arts Council (Basata) a body that sanctions such contests.

Dar es Salaam. Julitha Kokumanya Kabete will represent Tanzania at the Miss World beauty contest on November 18 in Sanya China after she was handpicked by the Miss Tanzania organizing committee.

Organisers say their hands were forced into this unorthodox method due to the delay of getting clearance from the National Arts Council (Basata) a body that sanctions such contests.

According to Lino International, they only received the green light a couple of weeks ago, at a time when the Miss World contest is only a couple of weeks away, meaning they could not wait to get for the Miss Tanzania winner.

Julitha is former Miss Dar Centre, Miss Ilala who finished fifth in the 2016 beauty pageant which was held in Mwanza for the first time in the history of the pageant.

“She has experiences in international beauty pageants as last year she represented Tanzania in Miss Africa and did well, apart from that, she is talented, disciplined and these are some of the critical aspects that we took into consideration for her selection,” says Rico.

They believe she was the best choice given her ability to express herself, her vast knowledge of Tanzania’s tourist attractions and international exposure which are some of the issues that gave her an edge above the rest.

This is not the first time that the agency has resorted to handpicked candidates, in 2012 Lisa Jensen was handed the rather undesirable task of representation as the organisation again cited being time-barred.

He representation was very lukewarm, nobody ever noticed let alone recognize her attempt at the world crown.

Miss Tanzania has been a troubled place in recent times as what was once one of the hottest events on the entertainment calendar is now only a distant memory to most.

The in-fights and the abdication of the crown by Sitti Mtemvu in 2014 left the organisation with a very bad image making it difficult to lure corporate sponsorships.

Could this quest be some form of wishful thinking? Though organisers a confident that Julitha isn’t only going to Sanya to make up numbers, statistics state otherwise.

Hers is a quest to emulate Nancy Sumari’s 2005 feat who remains an isolated example in the history of the pageant locally and given the state of affairs it is likely to take a very long time.

On that December night in the glare of global audience, Nancy Sumari dazzled as she walked away with the Miss Africa World crown in the Chinese city of Sanya.

As many insiders admit, they had anticipated her win which reverberated across the country and continent as she achieved what many can only afford to dream about.

This is as far as Tanzanian contestants have gone with many posting very dismal shows that left fans wondering why they ever made the journey. However as Lundenga and his committee have every reason to beam with confidence and hope that Lady Luck smiles down on Tanzania, only miracles can save Julitha’s quest for the global victory.

Given what happened in the past two years, pundits say the country is still a long way from achieving success in that arena as they point fingers at the mode of preparations leading towards the World stage.

The 11th hour preparations leaves contestants with very limited time master the competition’s rudiments.

Most countries that have excelled in this competition always select their beauty queen a year in advance.

For example as cameras follow the events in Sanya, South Africa which has a great track record in the event have already launched the search for next year’s beauty queen.

According an insider, given the time limit the winner usually doesn’t have enough time to acclimatize with her new celebrity surroundings.

This according to him allows the selected bunch of young girls time to be tutored into the basic skills like etiquette which most of our contestants lack.

But even as odd rear their ugly heads, there is more that Tanzania can get from the Miss World contest than just the crown.

The source maintains that Miss Tanzania and Miss World is a marketing tool that is yet to be exploited especially in the tourism sector.

“ It is common knowledge that Tanzania is the home of one of the most beautiful tourist attractions yet the we struggle with low numbers of tourists,” he says

Tanzania first got its beauty queen in 1994 when Anna Maeda won the crown. She was then followed by Emily Adolph in 1995 before Soshe Sinare did it the following year.

Then Saida Kessy from Arusha broke the Dar dominance in 1997when she swept the crown which was then known as Aspen Miss Tanzania at an emotional event held at Diamond Jubilee Hall.

Basila Mwanukuzi from Kinondoni won the pageant in 1998, followed by Ilala’s Hoyce Temu and Jacqueline Ntuyabaliwe in 1999 and 2000 respectively.

Dar es Salaam continued to dominate the pageant in 2001 through Temeke’s Happiness Millen Magese who won the pageant and followed by Angela Damas in 2002.

Temeke was in the thick of things again in 2003 through Sylvia Bahame and later Kinondoni dominated the pageant through Faraja Kotta, Nancy Sumari, Wema Sepetu and Richa Adhia in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 respectively.

Before Genevieve Mpangala and Salha Israel whose term comes to an end tomorrow, Mwanza had taken a two-year winning streak with Nasrin Karim and Miriam Gerald winning in 2008 and 2009 respectively.

Others who followed were equally not luck with their attempt at the crown and it remains an interesting prospect if at all Julitha has what it takes to make it to the top.