The diamond was donated by the Botswana government as Emma's national gift to the Miss World pageant, where it was supposed to be auctioned for charity by the Miss World.
The Botswana beauty queen waited desperately for weeks in China for the arrival of the diamond but unknown to her, the gemstone was being held in Johannesburg, South Africa by the couriers who wanted an extra $2,000 to ship it to Sanya. A senior Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture official told Mmegi yesterday they were alerted by the Botswana embassy in China that the $15,000(+-P105,000) diamond was stuck in South Africa and they quickly organised payment to the courier. Deputy director in the Department of Youth and Culture Mogogi Kojane said that after payment of the extra $2,000, the gemstone, transported by the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) was dispatched to China where it arrived without a hitch. But after the gemstone reached Sanya, China, reports say that Wareus endured more agony when she could not get the diamond because of an alleged mix-up in labeling. The passport number on the label did not match that of Wareus.
