Stampede as fans mob ex-Miss Universe Mpule Kwelagobe

MONKAGEDI GAOTLHOBOGWE
Staff Writer | Monday August 29, 2011 00:00

 

The New York-based Kwelagobe had to be pulled away by officials from the Youth Council upon realising that the Mpule-crazy public would not let her go to her car.

Interestingly, Kwelagobe had been gently complaining that she has to go, but her fans, would have none of it, as they exchanged her in a photo-shoot spree.

Initially, Kwelagobe who had volunteered to help out the Botswana National Youth Council (BNYC) during her short visit to Botswana, had let the organisation know this is not about glitz and glamour, and had in fact told them she will not be doing any media interviews, according to BNYC, Director Benjamin Raletsatsi.

But that would soon change, when Kwelagobe found herself overwhelmed by television and print media requests, soon after she had addressed the gathering at the Youth Centre, where she appeared to give a motivational speech and perform the official launch of the Mahalapye Youth Centre's cyber cafe.

Kwelagobe would later find herself under siege as tens of youths, village elders, and government officials demanded photoshoots with her, while other young people requested for 'special advice' from her a one-on-one basis.  She signed autographs here and there too.

But the photoshoot drama did not coming to an end as one individual after another continued to pull her aside for a photoshoot.

What was evident on Friday is that Kwelagobe is still regarded as some sort of national symbol of beauty by Batswana.  This is in stark contrast to how she wants to be seen today though. She says she wants to be seen as an educated woman, a political economist, who is busy working with world governments to build a better tomorrow by coming up with policies that address issues of global warming and sustainable development.

She told Showtime that she graduated over five years ago from Columbia University, where the current United States of America (US) President Barack Obama also went to, and has since been selected on two occasions to go and speak at the Global Economic Forum, alongside the likes of former US president Bill Clinton, and Microsoft founder, Bill Gates.

In fact, she says her short trip to Botswana was more of a research trip tied to her new career.However, her audience refused to see her as the intellectual she presented, and instead saw her as Mpule Kwelagobe, the Miss Universe beauty, the pride of Botswana and nothing else.

They were not wrong, as Kwelagobe looked fabulous with her figure toned down to a size 32 that left many wondering how she sustains that elusive figure.