During an announcement on Thursday, Rea Malatji was unveiled as one of the judges for Miss World SA.
Malatji, a pharmacist by profession, a singer, an actress, and a former beauty queen, is among the eight judges who will be choosing Miss World SA in Sun City on October 5.
She was the first black woman to be crowned Miss Pretoria in 1999.
Malatji has competed in the Miss Pietersburg (now Polokwane), Miss South Africa Northern Province, and Miss Premier Soccer League beauty pageants.
Miss World spokesperson Rich Mkhondo said: “Rea was master of ceremonies at the recently held Netball World Cup last year in Cape Town.
“She is a humanitarian at heart, and she is passionate about alleviating poverty to empower the youth and has trained more than 200 youth and women in various communities.”
Panel of judges
Miss World, Krystyna Pyszková, who hails from the Czech Republic, will also form part of the panel of judges.
Others include Michael Petr, also from the Czech Republic, and South Africans, Dr Norman Cahi and Ntsoaki Ledimo.
Malaak Compton-Rock and Ava Lizette Hall from the US, as well as Taibo Bacar from Mozambique will complete the panel of judges.
Cahi is one of the pioneers of teeth bleaching in South Africa; he is considered a leader in this special field of dentistry.
Ledimo has been involved with Miss World South Africa from inception. She believes in growing talent at the grassroots level.
Petr is an internationally acclaimed dance choreographer and trainer. He trained Pyszková, the current Miss World.
“He runs dance studios in his native Czech Republic as well as the United States. He has featured in many globally recognised dance shows and prides himself on producing winners,” said Mkhondo.
Compton-Rock is a member of New York Women in Communications and the Cause Marketing Forum. She was a co-judge on the Harpo/ABC-TV reality show, Oprah’s Big Give.
“She runs the Angel Rock Project, an online e-village that promotes volunteerism, social responsibility, and sustainable change,” Mkhondo said.
Hall is the head of content and brand for The Africa Channel in Los Angeles.
She has more than 20 years of television network experience in content development, television production, artist/talent relations, programme planning and operations, creative services, brand management, and content distribution.
Bacar is a renowned Mozambican designer whose brand is known for its fusion of high fashion and ready-to-wear.
He first launched the brand in 2008 in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique.
