REATILE Molefe, the reigning Miss Culture Lesotho has raised the country’s flag in South Africa (SA) where she was crowned the Second Princess in the Miss Culture International 2021 pageant.

The grand coronation was held live at The Lyric Theatre in Johannesburg over the weekend, despite the widespread threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the recently discovered Omicron variant.

Samela Aubrey Godin, Miss Culture Philippines bagged the coveted crown while Miss Zimbabwe was crowned the First Princess.

The 20-year-old Molefe broke into tears as she was announced the Second Princess in the highly competitive contest, which had 14 contestants from 14 countries vying for the title.
She told Metro on Tuesday that she has never celebrated that way before, adding that she had the experience of a lifetime at the global show. 
"I was so excited! Then I became so emotional when I heard and saw my sponsors from Aranda Textile (a major blanket retail outlet) who came to support me, singing praises in Sesotho. That made me cry even more.
"It was a great honour for Basotho to bestow so much trust on me by choosing me to represent their country. It also means a lot to other local models because I have now paved the way for them in order to get recognition for international pageants. We start small, by crawling and we will soon walk," she says, beaming with a huge smile.
Asked about the lessons she drew from the competition, Molefe was quick to highlight that age is nothing but a number.
"I have learnt that no matter how small or big, young or old, one can actually do what they set their minds on. I am saying this because I was actually the youngest competitor but here I am. I did it too," she says.