Chris Theko
Naleli Sephaphathi from Tsenola in Maseru was on Saturday crowned the Face of Lesotho 2021 winner at the ceremony which was held at Avani Maseru.
She was able to beat nine other finalists while Karabo Keketsi and Karabo Leqhaoe won first and second princesses respectively.
A buoyant Sephaphathi was oozing with confidence as she exhibited poise, beauty and brains and eloquently able to answer the judges questions.
She told Newsday Arts on the sidelines of the do that she has taken part in sixteen pageants and succeeded in thirteen of them with Face of Lesotho being the latest one.
She was also part of the finalists in 2019 but did not make it.
“Winning Face of Lesotho has humbled me to the core; I’m amazed at how God has blessed me. I could not have succeeded if He had not shown me His Mercy; I am truly honoured as this is a very important role†she said.
Sephaphathi succeeds Boitumelo Sehlotho whose reign as Face of Lesotho took longer than the usual one year due to the Covid-19 outbreak which forced events and other activities to stop.
Amongst the duties that the winner of Face of Lesotho has to carry-out is to represent the country at the annual Face of Beauty international. However, the outgoing queen missed out on the experience due to the Covid-19 pandemic and it remains to be seen if the new queen will get the opportunity.
The 21-year-old Sephaphathi completed her high school at ‘Mabathoana High School and is currently furthering her studies at the National University of Lesotho studying Statistics and Demography.
Face of Lesotho was this year sponsored by Clicks, Pioneer Mall and Amazing Creations.
Sephaphathi said she will use her status to ensure that the campaign makes a huge impact in the country.
“I am looking forward to using my status to bring change in the country. “I would love to empower the youth through projects, I would love to give back to the community by any means because they are the ones who secured my spot in the top 10 section, they willingly voted for me and I would really love to show my appreciation,†Sephaphathi said.