Dispute rocks Miss Malaika

THE Miss Malaika Namibia pageant ended in controversy on Saturday night when almost immediately after the show, four of the judges alleged that the “wrong girl” had won.

However, businessman Matthew Gowaseb, who was designated as the pageant’s independent judge, backed the choice of Helena Mungunda as Miss Malaika. He indicated that there appeared to be a misunderstanding among the judges over procedures.”When I was introduced at the beginning of the show, a key phrase was used – independent judge – that means that it was my prerogative to make a decision based on the questions posed to the final three.Ultimately, the final decision lay with me and I felt that based on those answers, I chose the best candidate for the title,” Gowaseb told The Namibian yesterday.One of Miss Malaika’s main and most important tasks was to motivate the youth and campaign on HIV-AIDS-related issues.Against this background, Gowaseb said, he felt he had made the best choice.”The girl who won is a health worker and is already involved in the fight against HIV-AIDS.This was not just a beauty contest.We should all rise above these petty issues and recognise that the fight against HIV-AIDS is a serious matter that requires contributions from all,” he added.”In this instance, we have young women who did not enter this contest because they have beautiful bodies to display but who went because they had a commitment towards addressing the scourge of HIV-AIDS and I hope that at the end of the day, the so-called disgruntled judges will accept the fact that there was an independent judge who took a decision based on his informed assessment of the best possible three candidates,” Gowaseb said.”I made my assessment based on the final answers that the ladies gave and I stand firmly by my decision that I chose the most suitable person.I was not part of the organisation,” Gowaseb emphasised.On Saturday night, one of the other judges, Diamond Commissioner Kennedy Hamutenya, said: “We did not vote for that girl … we don’t understand how she [Helena Mungunda] could have won.”I represented Namdeb at the function and we are a company that prides itself on its transparency and integrity”.The judges included fashion designers Melanie Harteveld-Bekker and Odette Krempin; Head of the National AIDS Control Programme, Abner Xoagub; Marketing Manager of the Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF), Irene Simeon; and the Windhoek Country Club’s General Manager, Graham Howard.Howard told The Namibian that the issue was sparked when one or two of the judges expressed surprise at Mungunda taking the title.Silence fell over the room when apparent crowd favourite, Penny Uudjombala, was crowned second princess.Another favourite, Celeste Goliath, was chosen as first princess.Four of the disgruntled judges, Hamutenya, Xoagub, Krempin and Howard, met at the Kalahari Sands yesterday where they gave a press conference to express their dissatisfaction at the final choice of Miss Malaika.They issued a statement in which they recommended that Mungunda, should not be given her prizes until they had met with the organiser, Tonata Shiimi ya Shiimi.”We have decided that we need to discuss this matter with Tonata, and he has to get all the papers together and reconcile the votes.We want him to add up again and give us the name of the winner after which we will be happy to accept her,” Xoagub told The Namibian by telephone yesterday.Gowaseb said he regretted the negative outcome of the event, the purpose of which was to highlight the fight against HIV-AIDS.”It was incumbent upon the judges to familiarise themselves with the procedures and to know the extent of their responsibilities.Unless there are other issues that people are not raising, we should lay to rest the ghost of Malaika because she’s an angel and shouldn’t be treated in this vein,” he told The Namibian.Repeated attempts to get hold of the beauty pageant organisers yesterday were unsuccessful.They could not be reached on their cellphones.He indicated that there appeared to be a misunderstanding among the judges over procedures. “When I was introduced at the beginning of the show, a key phrase was used – independent judge – that means that it was my prerogative to make a decision based on the questions posed to the final three. Ultimately, the final decision lay with me and I felt that based on those answers, I chose the best candidate for the title,” Gowaseb told The Namibian yesterday. One of Miss Malaika’s main and most important tasks was to motivate the youth and campaign on HIV-AIDS-related issues. Against this background, Gowaseb said, he felt he had made the best choice. “The girl who won is a health worker and is already involved in the fight against HIV-AIDS. This was not just a beauty contest. We should all rise above these petty issues and recognise that the fight against HIV-AIDS is a serious matter that requires contributions from all,” he added. “In this instance, we have young women who did not enter this contest because they have beautiful bodies to display but who went because they had a commitment towards addressing the scourge of HIV-AIDS and I hope that at the end of the day, the so-called disgruntled judges will accept the fact that there was an independent judge who took a decision based on his informed assessment of the best possible three candidates,” Gowaseb said. “I made my assessment based on the final answers that the ladies gave and I stand firmly by my decision that I chose the most suitable person. I was not part of the organisation,” Gowaseb emphasised. On Saturday night, one of the other judges, Diamond Commissioner Kennedy Hamutenya, said: “We did not vote for that girl … we don’t understand how she [Helena Mungunda] could have won. “I represented Namdeb at the function and we are a company that prides itself on its transparency and integrity”. The judges included fashion designers Melanie Harteveld-Bekker and Odette Krempin; Head of the National AIDS Control Programme, Abner Xoagub; Marketing Manager of the Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF), Irene Simeon; and the Windhoek Country Club’s General Manager, Graham Howard. Howard told The Namibian that the issue was sparked when one or two of the judges expressed surprise at Mungunda taking the title. Silence fell over the room when apparent crowd favourite, Penny Uudjombala, was crowned second princess. Another favourite, Celeste Goliath, was chosen as first princess. Four of the disgruntled judges, Hamutenya, Xoagub, Krempin and Howard, met at the Kalahari Sands yesterday where they gave a press conference to express their dissatisfaction at the final choice of Miss Malaika. They issued a statement in which they recommended that Mungunda, should not be given her prizes until they had met with the organiser, Tonata Shiimi ya Shiimi. “We have decided that we need to discuss this matter with Tonata, and he has to get all the papers together and reconcile the votes. We want him to add up again and give us the name of the winner after which we will be happy to accept her,” Xoagub told The Namibian by telephone yesterday. Gowaseb said he regretted the negative outcome of the event, the purpose of which was to highlight the fight against HIV-AIDS. “It was incumbent upon the judges to familiarise themselves with the procedures and to know the extent of their responsibilities. Unless there are other issues that people are not raising, we should lay to rest the ghost of Malaika because she’s an angel and shouldn’t be treated in this vein,” he told The Namibian. Repeated attempts to get hold of the beauty pageant organisers yesterday were unsuccessful. They could not be reached on their cellphones.