“I did what I had to do in the moment. I mean it might not have been what we all wanted but it was my best decision at the time.”
Three weeks ago, an expectant nation set their alarms for 2am to catch their Mampale, Miss Botswana 2021, Palesa Molefe’s long overdue date with destiny.
Along with 40 of the most beautiful women on the planet, the 22-year-old was to take to the Miss World stage to represent the country. There was real belief amongst the masses that she might even walk away with the crown.
Certainly, with her grace, easy going nature and disarming smile, Molefe had Batswana rooting for her in a way that very few beauty queens have managed in recent years.
Two days before the finale, Miss Botswana official social media pages revealed four outfits and asked Batswana to vote for the gown they would like Molefe to wear.
However, when the time came, she took to the stage in a completely different dress – an outfit it later emerged belonged to Miss Ivory Coast.
By morning, Molefe was the talk of the town, with everyone wondering what happened. A day later, she released a short statement, blaming a wardrobe malfunction for her last-minute dress change.
The beauty eventually returned home, but not before missing her scheduled flight from Johannesburg, leaving Ministers, dignitaries and fans who had flocked to the airport to welcome her scratching their heads in bewilderment. They were not alone.
Upon her return, Molefe effectively vanished from the public eye. Voice Entertainment was told that the minute she arrived in the country, she slapped organisers of the event with a sick note.
On Monday, Molefe finally broke her silence at a hastily arranged press conference.
“I think the shock wasn’t more the statement but the fact that I walked out in a completely different gown than the four that were put out. I did not take that lightly in terms of wearing a locally designed down,” she insisted.
Attempting to explain what went wrong, Molefe continued, “My dress, the zipper it ..it ..it uh came out of the trail. It was not anyone’s fault, it can literally happen to anyone at any time.
I was about to go on stage, I was number four on the line when that happened. My dress popped open.
In that moment you can’t think of what was happening.
I was faced with one decision to make, whether to be called on stage and no one shows up or do I put on another dress.
“I did what I had to do in the moment. I mean it might not have been what we all wanted but it was my best decision at the time.”
Pressed further, Molefe admitted they submit their dresses a day before the pageant and whilst her competitors submitted two dresses, as per the regulations, she only submitted one of the four.
“I had four dresses yes, but I only took two with me and the other one I was supposed to wear it at another event scheduled. Each dress had an event of its own. My friend was kind enough to borrow me a dress and because with live production everything is done in a rush I took the best possible decision at the time,” she reiterated.
Commenting on her missed flight, the bald beauty blamed fatigue, revealing she overslept.
As for why she has not moved into the official Miss Botswana residence, as is tradition for the reigning queen, Molefe noted simply that she was her ‘mother’s baby’.
She will now continue with her beauty with a purpose project on mental health focusing on children before she passes on the crown to the next Miss Botswana in six months.
