W

HAT a difference a

day makes. When

she woke up on

Wom en’s Day it

was with butter-

flies in her stom-

ach and a dream

in her heart. Fast

forward 24 hours and Zozibini Tunzi

finds herself in a luxury hotel suite, the

woman of the moment, her beautiful

face plastered all over newspapers and

news sites.

She’s also become an overnight social

media sensation.

“Waking up as Miss South Africa

meant waking up to 44 000 [new] Insta-

gram followers, which is insane, but I

guess it shows just how big a platform

this is,” the newly crowned beauty queen

tells DRUM from her suite in The Maslow

hotel at Time Square, Pretoria. “I think

that was when it first dawned on me how

much my life has changed.”

The 25-year-old is wearing a crisp

white robe after having her makeup

done. Zozi, as she’s affectionately known,

has been up since 5am with her team,

including pageant coach Werner Wes-

sels, preparing for a full day of engage-

ments.

Her shoes from last night’s pageant

lie strewn on the floor as she sips a cup

of tea, Pretoria spread out through the

windows behind her.

It’s a long way from the tiny village of

Tsolo where she grew up, she admits.

“It’s very strange. I’m just a girl from

theEastern Cape. I really didn’t think I’d

makeit,but I somehow always knew my

lifewould be better. Everything is finally

comingtogether.”

It wasa case of second time lucky for

Zozi,who entered Miss South Africa in

2017,the year Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters

tookthe crown. Zozi only made it as

farasthe top 26 but instead of being

discouraged she saw it as a stepping

stone to try again.

And this time there was no stop-

ping her. Outgoing Miss SA Tama-

ryn Green placed the crown on Zo-

zi’s head as she shimmered and

dazzled in a silver gown by local

designer Anel Botha.

But one aspect of Zozi’s look

was dramatically different to her

first Miss SA outing: instead of a

weave she came out loud and

proud with her short, natural

hair.

Zozibini, who is already
making her mark as
Miss SA, with her proud
parents, Philiswa and
Lungisa Tunzi.

OUR QUEEN,

NATURALLY

New Miss SA Zozi Tunzi shares her joy

at winning, and tells us why she’s proud

of her natural hair

BY SHANAAZ PRINCE PICTURES: LUBABALO LESOLLE