{"id":65660,"date":"2025-12-24T18:08:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T18:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/makoae-makes-grand-entrance-back-home"},"modified":"2025-12-24T18:40:01","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T18:40:01","slug":"makoae-makes-grand-entrance-back-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/makoae-makes-grand-entrance-back-home","title":{"rendered":"Makoae Makes Grand Entrance Back Home"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"ap-article-header-tag\"> <strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Lesotho. <\/strong> <\/span>Miss Cosmo International contestant Refiloe Makoae made a grand return to Lesotho on Wednesday, receiving a warm welcome led by the Minister of Sport, Mr. Motlatsi Maqelepo, alongside her family, friends and fellow beauty queens.<\/p>\n<p>Miss Makoae was received at Moshoeshoe I International Airport before proceeding to Grace Lodge in Roma, where celebrations continued.<\/p>\n<p>Addressing those gathered, Minister Maqelepo congratulated Makoae on her commendable performance, noting that social media played a significant role in amplifying her presence and support, which saw her finish among the top runners-up in the competition.<\/p>\n<p>The Minister emphasised the importance of intelligence and character in leadership, stating that leadership is reflected in everyday life through one\u2019s choices, conduct and behaviour.<\/p>\n<p>He added that Makoae carried the hopes and aspirations of the Basotho nation with pride, saying her participation had helped position Lesotho more positively on the global stage.<\/p>\n<p>According to him, she demonstrated and embodied all the values required at the international competition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe was not merely participating; she became part of the competition itself. She was stunning, intelligent and confident.<\/p>\n<p>Her performance strengthens my argument on the relevance of beauty pageants, and highlights the need to support individuals like her and local artists to promote tourism,\u201d said Minister Maqelepo.<\/p>\n<p>He further noted that the Ministry intends to collaborate closely with local talent to strengthen the arts and tourism sectors.<\/p>\n<p>He also appealed to the private sector to support Makoae in marketing initiatives, while indicating that the Ministry would work towards budgeting for partnerships with local artists representing the country abroad.<\/p>\n<p>In her remarks, Makoae said her advocacy on menstrual health attracted significant attention and admiration during the competition, adding that she received overwhelming support for the cause.<\/p>\n<p>Reflecting on her journey, Makoae attributed her success to resilience and the unwavering support of her family, whom she described as her pillars of strength.<\/p>\n<p>She also expressed heartfelt appreciation to the Basotho nation for their encouragement and support throughout her participation.<\/p>\n<p>Her father, Mr. Mohlabi Nkuka, described his daughter as someone who refuses to be limited by doubt or discouragement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-article-footer-note\">Find more news and analyses on <span class=\"ap-highlight-country\">Lesotho<\/span> on the <span class=\"ap-highlight-brand\">Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Lesotho. Miss Cosmo International contestant Refiloe Makoae made a grand return to Lesotho on Wednesday, receiving a warm welcome led by the Minister of Sport, Mr. Motlatsi Maqelepo, alongside her family, friends and fellow beauty queens. Miss Makoae was received at Moshoeshoe I International Airport before proceeding to Grace Lodge in Roma, where [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":65659,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[245],"class_list":["post-65660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-lesotho"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Makoae Makes Grand Entrance Back Home - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag&quot;&gt; Africa-Press - Lesotho. 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