Last week, Onameditse Botumile was buzzing with excitement and oozing confidence as she flew almost 10,000 km to Cambodia for the Miss Planet International beauty pageant.
Unfortunately what was meant to be the trip of a lifetime turned into a nightmare when her jewelry and makeup were all stolen from her hotel room, an occurrence which her manager believes was intentional sabotage.
The 28-year-old beauty from Mambo village in the North-East District left the country on an incredibly hopeful note, certain that her personality, charm and intelligence were the perfect set to win her the crown.
When speaking to this publication, she underlined her Advanced Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety and Environmental Law, saying that the qualification made her the perfect candidate to run with the Miss Planet International mission.
Model Atts Director Atlarelang Mosweu told The Voice that Botumile’s Cambodia experience was a horrid one. “We got the shock of our lives when we found out that all her jewelry and makeup had been stolen from her hotel room.”
Mosweu said that the theft was reported to hotel security who did very little to assist despite the crisis that had befallen the young woman who was countries away from home. “The security said that they were busy and therefore unable to investigate the theft, that was all they had to say to us.”
“Considering their unwillingness to assist, we can only believe that this was a premeditated act that was meant to sabotage our queen’s participation in the pageant,” she added.
While trying to recover from her losses, Miss Planet Botswana was informed by pageant organizers that her heels were inches shorter than was required so the Cambodian team gave her a new set of sky-high heels.
“Despite these unprecedented setbacks, our girl took to the stage and gave her very best. Although she did not make it to the top 7, she was awarded Miss Popularity, an award that shows how much Batswana have been rallying behind her by voting” said Mosweu appreciatively.
Mosweu says that they are immensely proud of Botumile for not caving in the midst of all the chaos that surrounded her.
She expressed disappointment in the Cambodian law enforcement as well as pageant organizers for failing them.
Miss Planet Botswana will return home today (31st of January 2023) and Mosweu has urged Batswana to come in large numbers to welcome her back home to acknowledge her fighting spirit.
