SA’s Miss Universe Boycott Has Government Support, Miss South Africa Likely to Compete in Israel

• The South African government will continue to not support Miss South Africa participating in the Miss Universe pageant
• The Pretoria High Court dismissed an application by Citizens for Integrity which requested that the government support Miss South Africa
• The reason for the government withdrawing their support is that the pageant is being held in Israel, whose leadership they believe should be condemned for human rights violations

PRETORIA - The South African government's decision to not support Miss South Africa competing in the Miss Universe pageant in Israel endures. The competition is set to take place this Sunday (12 December).

Judge Cornelius Jacobus Van Der Westhuizen from the Pretoria High Court dismissed an application brought forward by Citizens for Integrity, who want the government to support the current Miss South Africa, Lalela Mswane, in her run for Miss Universe.

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On 6 December, the NPO Africa4Palestine applied to be a friend of the Pretoria High Court. According to City Press, Tisetso Magama, a spokesperson for the NPO, said that they are pleased that the case has been removed from the court roll.

Further legal developments and the opinions of those involved

Elson Kgaka, a lawyer for Citizens for Integrity, said that Magama misunderstood and the case is still on the roll, but it is no longer marked as urgent. Kgaka said that the group will continue to push for government to support Mswane, The Citizen reports.

Africa4Palestine believes that Israel's behaviour towards Palestinians is on par with how the apartheid government treated people of colour. They added that the UN condemning Israel on numerous occasions serves as enough reason for South Africa to boycott any event held there.

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Miss SA Lalela Mswane smiles and poses with Jerusalem's deputy mayor, peeps upset: "You don't Lalela at all"

The entrants from Barbados, Greece, Malaysia, Morocco, Laos and Indonesia have withdrawn from the Miss Universe pageant in support of Palestine. Magama said that he does not understand why Mswane does not follow suit as she champions humanitarian issues.

Reactions to the government not supporting Miss Universe

@22_saying asked:

"Politics aside - Will government claim her as one of ours if she wins? Accept her back with open arms?"

@Ndondela2 said:

"Yes, until she wins it."

@SocietyNews believes:

@KhutsoRebel shared:

"These courts are a parallel government."

@slowhoneybee said:

Miss SA Lalela Mswane smiles and poses with Jerusalem's deputy mayor

Previously, Briefly News reported that Miss South Africa 2021 Lalela Mswane posed for pictures with Jerusalem's Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum. A post of the two was shared on Twitter by @StandWithUs, an organisation "supporting Israel around the world".

The post has angered many South Africans who are fighting against the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Social media users have labelled Mswane 'Miss Apartheid' due to Israel being considered widely as an apartheid state.

Many Saffa netizens have stood strong by their words that Mswane does not represent them. This follows the Government's withdrawal of their support for Mswane's participation in the Miss Universe pageant.

Source: Briefly News