Tshepo beats thousands of hopefuls to be crowned Empress South Africa

Tshepo Makupu made history when she was crowned the first-ever Empress South Africa 2019 winner on December 17 at Suncoast Casino’s Barnyard Theatre.

Twenty-five contestants vied for the main title.

The judging panel was headed by Mrs Africa, Dr Kwena Manamela.

The local beauty, Tshepo, was outstanding in her summer dress and swimwear modelling round, gracing the ramp with her poise and elegance.

The top five contestants were asked how they would use their titles to make a positive difference in their country and community.

Tshepo articulated herself well and answered that she feels the women youth of our country need role models to look up to and that she would use the title to empower and inspire the country’s youth.

She will reign as Empress South Africa 2019 until the next Empress is crowned towards the end of this year.

The title-holder has already started doing her bit to improve the lives of others.

On Sunday, Tshepo joined the Food For Life SA team to hand out food parcels to the community of Alexandra.

Tshepo has been actively involved in the Food For Life charity drive every month since the beginning of last year.

Food for Life SA serves 20 000 plates of food per day across South Africa and 1-million plates per day internationally.

Chairperson of Food for Life Sandton, Angie Rambaran, says their objective is to eradicate hunger one plate at a time and to make Alexandra township a hunger-free zone.

“The residents of Alexandra have welcomed Food for Life with open arms.

“They look forward to having us there every month,” says Rambaran.

South Africa is experiencing an 11 per cent moderate hunger crisis.

Tshepo enjoys being part of the Food For Life relief programme.

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“I am inspired by the smiles of the children and appreciation from the adults who have a meal for their family for the next two or three days.

“Food is a basic need and it’s an important initiative,” says Tshepo.

Tshepo was actively involved in serving her community during her campaign and joined several charity organisations.

She personally donated winter blankets to the underprivileged and homeless in winter last year.

The 27-year-old loves giving back to her community and empowering the youth and underprivileged.

She does this through motivation, public speaking and guidance.

She plans to hold several workshops on motivating and empowering the youth during her reign this year.

The beauty queen, who grew up in Kroonstad, achieved her degree in consumer science summa cum laude (95 per cent average) and manages more than 49 employees in her job at a large manufacturing company.

She is an entrepreneur and runs her own mobile spa.

She is currently writing a book called The Magic Mind, which is a motivational book to empower others.

She has launched a foundation called Palesa Ya Setahaba, which is aimed at offering guidance and counselling to people in need.

*Empress South Africa is the world’s first large-scale online beauty contest using the platform of Miss Eagle South Africa.

Miss Eagle received 35 000 applications and shortlisted 500 contestants, who were further narrowed down to 100 finalists.

Hundreds of contestants competed to win their province on a points-based system.

However, only the winner with the highest score from each province was admitted into the pageant.

These nine queens, aged 18 to 28 years, as well as a special Queen of Hearts (selected at the pageant), took to the ramp and competed for this first-ever coveted title of Empress South Africa.

All nine queens modelled three garments each, including summer dresses, swimwear and evening gowns.

The winner won a large undisclosed cash prize.

She will be built into a brand and will secure various opportunities during her reign.

The other contestants were awarded honorary titles.