TAWANDA MARWIZI
BULAWAYO – Mutare lawyer, Primrose Tafadzwa Jaricha, was crowned Miss Tourism Zimbabwe at a pageant held at the Bulawayo Rainbow Hotel over the weekend.
The 23-year-old beauty walked away with the top prize of $10 000 and a Mercedes-Benz C Class, while Natalie Mangodo who hails from Mashonaland East was crowned first princess and Life Matunzeni from Manicaland being crowned the second princess.
They will all get price money of $5 000 each.
“I am happy to be crowned Miss Tourism, this will definitely take me to another level in my career as a model,” she added.
Jaricha was one of the best students St Davis Girls High Bonda and aiming to become a lawyer, which happens to be a dream of every child at school.
When an announcement was made in 2009 that there would be a Miss Slim Shady pageant, she entered the competition thanks to peer pressure but that is when she realised her full potential in the modeling industry.
She won the contest and at the time she was only a Form 3 student who wanted to land a noble and respected profession in the country.
Today the beauty queen boasts of three titles namely Miss UZ 2015, Miss Universities 2015 and now she is the reigning Miss Tourism Zimbabwe.
As if that is not enough Jaricha is now a lawyer based in Mutare.
Like several lawyers who include David Hofisi who ventured into music and David Ngwerume who is now one of the best sculptors in the country, Jaricha is pushing to make an impact in the modeling industry.
“To be honest I started this as a fun hobby in High school but then that contest Miss Slim Shady make me realise my full potential in the modeling industry,” he said.
Although she was only in Form 3, she gained the courage and the confidence to take modeling to another level.
When she enrolled at the University of Zimbabwe as a law student, she then learnt how to balance the two; her career and modeling.
She won two crowns while she was at school before being crowned Miss Tourism Manicaland.
“Those days I was still at school and I learnt how to balance the two, besides law being one of the most demanding professions I have managed to strike a balance,” she added.
“I wear both shoes at the same time, when I am doing my work I don’t forget that I am a model which also applies me when I am on the ramp, I do not forget my values and ethics of a legal practitioner,” she said.
What makes Jachira stand out is that she has said she will not quit modeling anytime soon, despite the demands of her legal profession.
“Trust me, I would never abandon my modeling career because of my job, despite it being a demanding one,” she added.
She is a model with a passionate to make the industry a lucrative one for future generations.
“As models we are working to make this industry shine for the coming generations and I want to thank several business people that are assisting us in making this a success. We might take time to do that but we will definitely make it lucrative for the coming generations,” he said.
Jaricha turned 27 this year and she hopes to make her mark on the modeling scene by the age of 30.
