Revealed: Why Miss Malawi Thandie Chisi walked away from Miss Universe dream

• Thandie Chisi says she lost confidence in organisers’ ability to send her to the global pageant, amid money troubles and conflicting information

Miss Malawi 2025 Thandie Chisi has broken her silence on her shock withdrawal from the Miss Universe competition, revealing the decision came after months of turmoil behind the scenes with the Miss Malawi Organisation.

The beauty queen said she quietly informed organisers of her decision in a private email on July 10 – and was stunned when the message later leaked into the public domain.

Pageant hopes dashed again and again

Chisi’s frustrations reportedly began long before the Miss Universe saga. Plans to send her to the Miss Supranational pageant fell through, she says, before bosses shifted their focus first to Miss World, and then finally to Miss Universe.

But behind the scenes, Chisi claims, money problems were plaguing the organisation at every turn.

She says she was even asked to personally borrow cash to help secure the Miss Supranational licence – and was later contacted by creditors who were owed money by pageant organisers and wrongly believed she would foot the bill.

‘I lost confidence‘

Explaining her decision to walk away, Chisi did not hold back.

“I eventually lost confidence in the organisation’s capacity to send me to Miss Universe,” she said. “I received conflicting information which only increased my frustrations and raised concerns about the potential impact of these unresolved issues on my professional reputation.”

Organisation responds

Miss Malawi Organisation public relations officer Stephen Mdala has since confirmed that bosses did receive Chisi’s message setting out her decision not to compete in Miss Universe.

The controversy erupted after Chisi’s original email – sent to Miss Malawi chief operations officer Godfrey Kambewa – resurfaced publicly.

Chisi says the message was also copied to her legal representative, as well as the organisation’s chief executive officer, seemingly as a safeguard amid the unfolding dispute.