South Africa’s Romanda Hombir crowned Miss World Africa as Dominican Republic takes global title
South Africa’s Romanda Hombir has been crowned Miss World Africa 2026 after reaching the Top 6 at the 73rd Miss World pageant in Nha Trang, Vietnam.
The 27-year-old clinical audiologist and health advocate was named the highest-placed African delegate at the grand final on 5 September, where Joheirry Mola of the Dominican Republic won the overall title.
Ms Mola’s victory gives her country its second Miss World crown, following Mariasela Álvarez in 1982. Elisabeth Reynés of Spain was named first runner-up, with Taanusiya Chetty of Malaysia in third. The competition drew 111 entrants.
A two-year rise through the ranks
Ms Hombir’s win was not her first attempt at the national title. She was named second runner-up at Miss World South Africa in 2024, then placed in the top three at Miss Supranational South Africa earlier this year.
She entered the Miss African Beauty South Africa competition in May 2026, progressing to the top 30 and later the top 20, before being crowned Miss World South Africa on 18 July – Nelson Mandela Day – under the country’s new Miss World licence holder, Bokang Montjane-Tshabalala, herself a Miss World Top 7 finalist in 2011.
In Vietnam, she won the Africa continental Head-to-Head Challenge, beating finalists from Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia and Eritrea to secure an automatic place in the Top 40. She then reached the Top 21 in the continental Top Model Challenge, before advancing through the Top 20 and Top 12 to the final Top 6.
Why the result matters
Reports of the significance of her result have referred to two separate records, which reflect different things.
The Miss World Africa title is an ambassadorial award given each year to the highest-placed African delegate. Regional pageant reporting says South Africa last held that specific title in 2017.
Separately, Ms Hombir’s Top 6 finish has been described as the country’s best outright placement at the competition since Rolene Strauss won the Miss World crown in 2014.
Analysis
The two claims are not in conflict – they measure different things. South Africa has sent a delegate to Miss World every year since Strauss’s win, including an unplaced finish for Zoalize Jansen van Rensburg in 2025, so the “best in a decade” framing reflects a genuine gap in competitive results, not simply the continental title.
The win also followed some friction at home. A “Dances of the World” routine built around a tribute to Nelson Mandela drew mixed domestic reaction over its choreography, even as it gained attention internationally, and Ms Hombir’s surname had earlier prompted unrelated speculation online about her heritage. Neither controversy appears to have affected her progress in Vietnam.
South Africa’s record at Miss World
South Africa has fielded a delegate at Miss World every year since Rolene Strauss’s win in 2014, with results ranging from Top 40 finishes to last year’s unplaced result. Ms Hombir’s Top 6 marks the country’s strongest outright placement since Strauss’s win, alongside the separate Miss World Africa continental title.
What Miss World’s official channel says
The Miss World organisation’s own website confirmed Ms Hombir’s selection as South Africa’s representative for what it called the pageant’s 75th Anniversary Edition, running in Vietnam from 9 August to 5 September.
It described her as a “clinical audiologist and community health advocate” and said her Beauty With a Purpose project focuses on improving access to healthcare, literacy and skills development, as well as raising awareness of women’s health conditions including endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome and fibroids. It added that she is of Swati, Zulu and German heritage, and has said she hopes one day to work with the United Nations on healthcare and education access.
‘Pride and joy’
Speaking after winning the continental Head-to-Head Challenge earlier in the competition, Ms Hombir said opening up about her own health struggles had been difficult “because there’s a lot of shame that comes from being sick, especially in a society that sees women as weak”.
Reflecting on her Top 6 finish, she said she was carrying the Miss World Africa title with “pride and joy”, and congratulated Ms Mola, saying she was “so proud” of the new titleholder.
South Africa was not the only African country to make headlines in Nha Trang. Eritrea’s Snit Habteab Tewoldemedhin also reached the Top 6, in the country’s Miss World debut, while Nigeria’s Tamunosoye Karibi-George advanced to the Top 12 after winning the Miss World Africa Top Model title.
Related Topics: Miss World · South Africa · Beauty pageants · Vietnam
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