Chipo Mandiudza

Chipo Mandiudza
Chipo Mandiudza
Known for	Being Miss Tourism Zimbabwe 2021

Chipo Mandiudza is a Zimbabwean model. She made headlines after she was handpicked and crowned the Miss Tourism Zimbabwe queen in October 2021 at a ceremony held in Bulawayo. Mandiudza had reigned as Miss Tourism Zimbabwe 2021 for two days after she resigned over nude pictures.

Background

She grew up in Sizinda, Bulawayo.^[1]

Education

At the time she was crowned Miss Tourism Zimbabwe, Chipo Mandiudza was studying for a Bachelor of Commerce Honours Degree in Marketing Management at Lupane State University.^[1]

Career

Mandiudza is a product of veteran modelling instructor, Sarah Mpofu - Sibanda where she graduated at Fingers Modelling agency. She has worked with some of Zimbabwe’s top designers such as Sozinio, Ivhu Tribe and Leico designs. In 2020 she won the face of Suzuki Summer Fashion Drive.

Mandiudza has also been named the Ivhu Tribe best commercial model, was second runner up at Miss Tourism Bulawayo 2019 and is the face of Own it Beauty bar.

Reign As Miss Tourism

Chipo Mandiudza was crowned Miss Tourism Zimbabwe 2021 on 19 October 2021 at a ceremony held in Bulawayo. She was named queen by the organisers of the contest without holding a contest.

The pageant licence holder, Sarah Mpofu-Sibanda said due to pressure from Miss Tourism International, they had to choose a queen without hosting a contest. Mpofu-Sibanda said the queen was chosen by a panel of local and international judges.^[2]

However, two days later, Mandiudza’s reign came to an end. In a statement, she said she was resigning after the emergence of nude pictures. However, a few days after she was dethroned, Mandiudza made a U-turn.

According to the model’s manager Godwill “G-Factor” Tasunga there were no nude pictures in the first place, only screen grabs from a raunchy display on Instagram Live by Mandiudza. According to Tasunga, Mandiudza was coerced into writing the letter by pageant organisers who, as they panicked from the public scrutiny over their selection of a winner in unclear circumstances, decided to use her as a scapegoat and strip her of her title.

MTZ chairperson Sibusisiwe Dube said she had initially been against Mandiudza’s decision to step down but had eventually agreed as it was her personal choice. Dube said it was only later that Mandiudza revealed that she had written the resignation letter against her will. In a conversation with Sunday Life, Mandiudza indicated that she had been “coached” into writing the letter.^[3]