Zambia contestant to miss Miss Universe as Zimbabwe entrant awaits US visa

Mubanga Pamela Hatyoka will not represent Zambia at this year’s Miss Universe pageant in Puerto Rico, the country’s national pageant organisation has announced. Its franchise holder, Arm Model Management, linked her situation to US presidential travel restrictions affecting Zambia and other African countries.

The organisation said in its 7 November statement that Hatyoka’s situation was different from cases involving personal circumstances, documentation or organisational problems. She will retain her Miss Universe Zambia title until she has the opportunity to represent her country on the international stage, it said, according to VersaEdits.

Zimbabwe’s representative, Roseanna Hall, had yet to obtain a US visa as of 13 November, the BBC reported. Hall said she had spent weeks in South Africa trying to secure one. “We have been back and forth, trying to get my visa approved,” she said in a video.

Miss Universe South Sudan also expressed uncertainty about its representative’s participation. Commenting on Hall’s video, the organisation said: “It is 50/50 whether we will make it, Miss Universe.”

The US introduced partial travel restrictions affecting Zimbabwe and Zambia in January. For Zambia, the restrictions cover several visa categories, including visitor, student and exchange visas, according to VersaEdits. It reported that exceptions apply to people who already hold visas and that waivers are available case by case.

Contestants began arriving in Puerto Rico, a US territory, on 8 November for registration and other preparations. The final is scheduled for 24 November in San Juan.