Melissa Nayimuli to Represent South Africa at Miss Universe 2025 in Thailand
- A Miss South Africa 2023 finalist has been announced as the Miss Universe South Africa 2025 queen
- The contestant will be sent by Bokang Montjane’s African Beauty International and not the Miss South Africa organisation
- Social media users reacted to the announcement of the Miss Universe South Africa 2025 queen
Source: Instagram
South Africa will once again be represented at the Miss Universe pageant after Mia le Roux withdrew from the pageant last year. This follows the announcement of the Miss Universe South Africa 2025 queen on Wednesday, 22 October 2025.
This comes weeks after the Miss South Africa Organisation explained why the 2025 queen will not participate in the Miss Universe competition on 21 November in Thailand. For the first time, the finalist representing South Africa will be sent by Bokang Montjane’s African Beauty International and not the Miss South Africa Organisation.
Miss Universe South Africa 2025 announced
Entertainment blogger and commentator Nozipho Mashaba took to X on 22 October to announce the Miss Universe South Africa 2025. Mashaba announced that Melissa Nayimuli is the new Miss Universe South Africa and will represent Mzansi in Thailand in November. The post was captioned:
“Big congratulations to our new Miss Universe South Africa, Melissa Nayimuli. Melissa is set to represent South Africa on the world stage at Miss Universe this November.”
The post had a photo of Melissa Nayimuli and a video of the model putting on her Miss Universe South Africa crown.
See the post below:
Social media reacts to Miss Universe South Africa
After African Beauty International announced Melissa Nayimuli as Miss Universe South Africa 2025 on its official Instagram account, social media users flooded the comments with reactions. Several social media users, including former Miss South Africa Liesl Laurie, applauded the choice and filled the comments with well-wishes for Melissa Nayimuli.
Here are some of the comments:
thepopcultza gushed:
"The absolute best choice! CONGRATULATIONS @melissanayimuli MISS UNIVERSE SOUTH AFRICA❤️❤️❤️❤️"
thato_mosehle shared:
"Screaming 😍! Congratulations, Melissa. You’re gonna kill it in Thailand 🔥💃🏽🙏🏾🥹❤️❤️🙌!"
mathiasgalantt said:
"Finally, justice is being served. Melissa has been crowned Miss Universe South Africa! ❤️"
liesllaurie gushed:
"Congratulations, beautiful 🙌🏽🥰❤️"
Source: Instagram
Who is Melissa Nayimuli?
Melissa Nayimuli hails from Butterworth in the Eastern Cape, born to a Xhosa mother and a Ugandan father.
She is no stranger to pageantry, having been a top-five finalist in Miss South Africa 2023. She first entered the Miss South Africa competition in 2020.
Beyond modelling, Niyamuli is also a film and television producer. Chosi Chosi, her debut documentary as a director and executive producer, debuted in December 2023. Chosi Chosi was turned into a Netflix movie, Piano Love, which stars Bontle Modiselle and Kwesta.
Ndavi Nokeri to judge Miss SA 2025 finalists
Meanwhile, Briefly News reported that beauty queen and former Miss SA 2022, Ndavi Nokeri, would be judging this year's pageant finalists.
The star will be part of the judging panel alongside a famous actress. Miss SA 2025 finalist and actress Luyanda Zuma shared with Briefly News how she felt to be back in the pageant after her journey in 2022.
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Source: Briefly News
