LINDOKUHLE: THE ROSE AMONG THORNS

Lindokuhle Mthupha is a 27-year-old woman who is ambitious, goal oriented, self-driven and motivated. She is a sister, a friend and most of all, a daughter, “I love my parents and value them dearly for all they have done for me.

I am a strong-willed woman because of their teachings,” she  says. She considers herself a lover of life, music and all things beautiful. After completing her high school at St Mark’s, she proceeded to do tertiary at North Glasgow College in Scotland.  “It was great to experience a different culture in Scotland and I must say it opened up my mind to the big world out there. “She is currently employed at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology as the Registry Campus Management Systems Officer.

She burst in to the limelight and social scene after winning the Best Dressed Female at the Millers Party 2013. This year, she was part of the Mr Swaziland Organising Committee, from the scouting of the contestants to the finale. The Mr Swaziland pageant has been the talk of the town ever since that finale night on Valentine’s Day. STYLE chats to Lindo about the whole experience behind the scenes.

STYLE: What made you decide to be a part of  the Mr Swaziland pageant?
LINDO: I received a call from the director, Melusi ‘Zox ‘Dlamini, who was with Nathi Gule. They pitched the idea to me and I immediately loved the vision they had for the pageant and the challenge it presented to me.

What are some of the highlights you can recall on the journey from launching the brand to the finale?
Greatest highlight is when you present this idea to sponsors and they quickly get on board because they buy in to the vision, they understand exactly what you want to achieve. So for me, all the sponsors that opened their doors to us, from your Dunns, Beauty @Linkmed,  Kwakha Indvodza to Limkokwing University (to name a few), them forging a partnership with our brand made our work run smoothly and totally in line with the whole concept we had in mind of rebranding the Mr Swaziland brand.

What are the low points or challenges you faced?
I am a person who welcomes challenges and I think I’m a huge optimist. I try to never dwell on negatives if I encounter any but instead I push myself harder to find solutions. Similarly with the Mr Swaziland task, we faced a few challenges as a team and together we tried to sought solutions. When positives outweigh the negatives, its hard to recall any negatives or challenges you’ve faced (lol).

The finale was brilliant, how long did that take to set up?
The finale has been a work in progress since inception of the team.
We knew we wanted to put on a good show and we had good ideas we wanted to try. And everything came together three weeks before the big day.

What is your  wish for Mr Swaziland  as he prepares for the Mr World pageant?
Only the best! I pray the Swazi nation is 100 per cent behind him and they give him all the support he needs and requires. I hope companies and sponsors will still come on board and embrace him. He really needs the nation’s support.

Would you  be part of the committee again given all the hard work involved?
With such positions one either gets to be appointed and in my case called in by the director, by getting the call and Arts and Culture approving my name is a huge honour. If you are invited to participate in organising a national event, it’s always such a huge honour on its own, so yes, I would accept it just to play my part in developing the arts sector.

What changes would you  like to see being implemented by government concerning pageants?
SBPA works directly with the directors (licence holders) and they are the ones who deal with the pageants directly, I was merely an advisor on certain issues. So I believe it would be up to the SBPA and the directors to forge a better working way forward together, noting past successes and challenges. I, therefore, believe the planned Beauty Pageant Indaba is a step in the right direction.

Your favourite Mr Swaziland  of all time?
I guess most of them have been unique in their own ways despite the challenges they have faced. Unique, be it aura, physic, intellect or personality, I cannot really choose one particular person as a favourite. I do, however, feel the current Mr Swaziland has the potential to leave the best legacy if he undertakes some meaningful projects that will positively touch lives and he is given all the necessary support. He is driven, full of energy and seems quite focused. On a parting shot, I must give credit to the team I worked with. We were engaged in this project purely as volunteers. So it’s quite inspiring to see young people willingly giving their time, resources and energy towards developing the arts sector. I would also like to thank all those who participated in the voting process, who followed our social media activity and encouraged us, as well as those who attended the event. Your participation is warmly and deeply appreciated.

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