By: Sandile Zikhali

“Being a leader doesn’t go with gender.”

This was the answer given by Londiwe Nkosi when she was asked whether South Africa is ready for a female president or not. Her answer led her to be crowned Miss DUT Inter-res 2014 on Friday night.

The event that is hosted by the housing department of the Durban University of Technology was held in the Indian Cane Growers Hall situated at the ML Sultan Campus.

Individuals from residences who had made it through the auditions that took place late July came with high hopes of walking away crowned Queen or King of DUT residences.

Nkosi, nicknamed “China,” defied all odds by winning the title as she was the shortest competitor.

“I have always been told I’m too short for modeling and my secret is that I think tall.  I have entered beauty pageants since primary level but this was my first time being crowned the winner- most of the time I only came second or third,” Londiwe said.

Londiwe said she wouldn’t have made it without the support she received from Walsingham Residence, where she resides.

Thembeka Nkosi, from Walsingham, said she was the one who begged Londiwe to enter for the competition.

“I have only known Londiwe for seven months but she is a sister to me. I pressured her to enter the competition.  I helped her practice and prepare for the competition.  I am very happy my help and work paid off,” Thembeka said.

“She is a friendly, humble, ambitious and confident woman- she deserved to win,” Thembeka added.

One of the organisers of the event, Nhlakanipho Zuma from Berea Res, said the event went smoothly with just a few hiccups.

“The experience we got from organising previous events which are similar to this helped us a lot. The Central Housing Committee (CHC) was a big help to us- they kept the team organized and this meant we had a helping hand whenever there was challenge we were facing,” Zuma said.

Noxolo Shazi, a CHC member, congratulated the winners of the night and added that the event was a huge success due to the hard work and sacrifices they made as the task team.

Many of the winners of the night look to further their career in the modeling industry, like Miss Personality for the night, Anna Madodo, who said she wants to try something different and pursue fashion modeling next year.

On the hand Londiwe said she hopes to be a businesswoman in the near future.

“I believe as long as woman has good qualities of being a great leader there is nothing that can stand in her way,” Londiwe concluded.