Miss Malawi leadership confronted by legal and sector criticism over disputed Miss World pathway
A row engulfing Malawi’s beauty pageant scene has exploded, with a veteran former pageant organiser and a prominent lawyer both tearing into Miss Malawi bosses for handing the country’s Miss World slot to a runner-up instead of the reigning queen — and the plot has now thickened further, with new evidence suggesting the snubbed queen may have qualified all along.
Carver Bhima, who ran Malawi’s national pageant for years, has insisted the reigning Miss Malawi should always be the one to represent the country at Miss World — unless she is unwell or unable to fulfil her duties, in which case organisers might reasonably turn to the runner-up or third-placed contestant.
Bhima weighed in after Miss Malawi organisers controversially selected runner-up Ireen Navicha, 21, to fly the flag at this year’s Miss World pageant — bypassing reigning Miss Malawi Thandie Chisi altogether.
Organisers initially justified the decision on the grounds of age, citing correspondence that set Miss World’s eligibility window at 17 to 25. But that explanation has now been thrown into serious doubt.
Chisi, who was born on 13 February, will still be just 27 when the Miss World 2026 final takes place on 5 September. Crucially, the Miss World Organisation’s eligibility criteria generally cover contestants aged 17 to 27 — although implementation can vary between national organisations — meaning Chisi appears to have been technically qualified to compete all along.
The revelation is already raising serious questions among pageant followers over how, and by whom, the age eligibility rules were interpreted and applied in Malawi’s case.
The confusion echoes a similar row unfolding in South Africa, where Romanda Hombir, a 27-year-old clinical audiologist, has been chosen to represent the country at Miss World through the separate Miss World South Africa franchise — sparking growing pressure for reigning Miss South Africa Qhawekazi Mazaleni, 24, to be sent instead.
It comes amid wider confusion over the difference between pageant systems, with Miss World and Miss Universe run as entirely separate competitions with different national franchises and qualification routes.
In Malawi, as in many countries, the Miss Universe representative is selected through a distinct Miss Universe Malawi franchise, rather than via the reigning Miss Malawi or her princesses — a distinction organisers have yet to fully clarify in explaining their decision.
Amid the growing confusion, UK-based Malawian lawyer Mzondi Lungu took to Facebook to blast the organisers.
“In my view, the organisers of Miss Malawi have created this confusion. The best approach would have been to organise a separate Miss World Malawi competition, where the winner would earn the right to represent Malawi at the Miss World pageant. This is exactly what has been done in Zambia,” Lungu wrote.
The lawyer did not hold back in branding the decision to overlook the rightful winner “completely out of order,” questioning openly whether the reigning queen had effectively had her crown snatched from under her.
“Nde zilumveka mwanayo mwamulanda crown? I sincerely hope this isn’t true, because no one should be deprived of the opportunity they earned fairly and squarely,” he wrote.
Lungu went further, accusing pageant chiefs of sending a damaging message to future contestants — that winning the crown offers no guarantee of representing the country internationally.
“Koma apa, the Miss Malawi organisers have disappointed many people by sending the wrong message — that someone can win the competition, yet the organisers can choose someone else to represent the country,” he said.
He called for a complete overhaul of how Malawi selects its international representatives, insisting transparency must be at the heart of any future process.
“Zisamatelo ayi. If there are international opportunities like Miss World, let contestants compete for them fairly. That is the only transparent and credible way to choose a representative,” Lungu wrote.
But not everyone is convinced the organisers got it wrong. In a lengthy Facebook post, pageant enthusiast Chigomezgho Nyasulu offered a more measured take, arguing that sending different placegetters to different international contests is actually standard practice around the world — and pointing to a possible solution that could satisfy everyone.
Nyasulu noted that history is littered with examples of runners-up going on to represent their countries at separate pageants, often with spectacular results.
She pointed to India’s Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai, who were sent to Miss Universe and Miss World respectively in 1994 and both went on to win — a feat repeated in 2000 by Lara Dutta and Priyanka Chopra.
She also cited South Africa’s Zozibini Tunzi, who won Miss Universe in 2019 while her runner-up, Sasha-Lee Olivier, was sent to Miss World.
Crucially, Nyasulu pointed out that the Miss Universe pageant — unlike Miss World — has no upper age limit at all, meaning Chisi would face no eligibility issues whatsoever if she competed there instead.
“The Miss Universe pageant has no age limit, and even married, widowed, separated or divorced women with children can enter. Its minimum age requirement is 18, and it has no upper age limit, which means Thandi Chisi can contest in this one without having to worry about her age,” she wrote, adding that Miss Universe is generally the more commercially lucrative and higher-profile of the two contests.
Nyasulu’s solution: send Chisi to Miss Universe instead, with full backing from organisers.
“Let me plead with the Miss Malawi organizers to ensure that Thandi Chisi is given full support and sponsorship to participate in the Miss Universe pageant this November. She MUST go to represent Malawi and, like Ireen Navicha, receive full funding and support. We are watching you and if Thandi is not sent to Miss Universe, we will make noise,” she warned.
She also issued a plea for Malawians to stop pitting the two young women against each other online.
“To my fellow Malawians, let’s be kind to Ireen because she is our girl and needs our full support… Let’s not bully our girls but support and show them care, instead of pitting them against each other. They are both beautiful, well-spoken and intelligent ladies whose success in both competitions will benefit us all and put us on the global beauty pageant map,” she wrote.
The row comes just days after Miss Malawi organisers confirmed Navicha — daughter of Minister of Women and Gender Mary Navicha — as the country’s pick for the Miss World pageant, a decision that had already sparked fierce debate on social media over its transparency, and which now faces renewed scrutiny following the apparent discrepancy over Chisi’s eligibility.
