Nust crowns 2019 King and Queen

Aletta Shikololo

WINDHOEK – On a night of great excitement, high adrenaline and wonder of who would scoop the titles of Miss and Mr Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust) 2019, 20 finalists battled for the crowns in which Harvey Upingasa and Nandeekwa Tjiurutue came out top.

Themed ‘Beauty with a purpose’ the fourth Mr and Miss Nust took place on Saturday evening at the university intending to choose the ambassador of the institution. 

Alongside Mr & Miss Nust, Winslau Samaria became the Second Prince and Petenen Nankele went home with the First Prince title while Queen Paulus was Second Princess and Wisdom Mujoro the First Princess.
Tjiurutue, who was over the moon after she was crowned Miss Nust, said she would be raising mental health awareness since there are many of her family members diagnosed with such illness while Upingasa said he would make sure Mr Nust 2019 will be bigger and better.

Speaking to Entertainment Now! student counsellor and HIV/AIDS coordinator, Alta McNally, who was also the organiser of the event, said: “[The] Mr and Miss Nust [pageant] gives students an opportunity to represent the institution beyond the Nust platform. We will expose them to other beauty pageants nationally and internationally,” she explained.

After handing over the crown to the new beauty queen, Miss Nust 2018, Elizabeth Mansanga, told Entertainment Now! that the beauty pageant had opened doors for her and she would be representing the country in Nigeria for Miss Pan African Queen in November.

“The student models have the potential of becoming who they want to be in life because through these beauty pageants, their self-confidence is boosted and many opportunities are opened to them,” Mansanga added.

Expressing his journey as Mr Nust 2018, Jessy Angula said the Mr Nust title has built his confidence and allowed him to give back to the community during his reign.

“I think there is a lot that needs to be done in the Namibia beauty industry, it needs [more] support than what it’s currently getting. For that we need to rely on external private stakeholders to come through, not only for financial support but also intangible support such as ] exposure to international markets,” expressed Angula.

He added that for events such as Mr & Miss Nust there were supposed to be external judges from places that are more respected in terms of fashion and beauty. So, that they could see that Namibians really got talent.

The event attracted hundreds of students and many Namibian celebrities such as Sally Boss Madam, Miss Namibia 2018, Selma Kamanya, and many others.
Namibian music giants Kp Illest, Lioness and Sunny Boy set the stage on fire with their great performances.