The first-ever Mr and Miss Albinism South Africa double pageant was held at Victory Theatre in Houghton, Johannesburg on Saturday, October 30, 2021, the event attracted an audience from different provinces and from as far as Botswana, with a noticeable majority being people with albinism.
The judges did not have it easy in deciding the winners out of 15 finalists who were dominated by 10 females. One of the judges, Precious Ndlovu (42), while applauding the contestants, said “I have never seen a pageant so tough in my life. My head was burning fire when the time for judging came. People with albinism are talented and magnificently intelligent regardless of their challenges.
Twenty-six-year-old Makhubela who hails from a small village in the Nkomazi district said winning the Mr. Albinism SA 2021 was a privilege and that he was “honored with the responsibilities of helping a boy child with albinism”.
Though he acknowledged the progress made in eliminating the stigmas around people with albinism, he admitted that there was still a lot of work to be done.
He further insisted that Communities have to do more in terms of making sure that people with albinism are free from stigmatization, marginalization, and all of the sorts of unjustifiable actions that are harmful.
The Mr. South Africa 2016 finalist and former Gauteng Fashion Council board member said he got the idea after seeing that people with albinism were suffering and did not have any representation in the beauty and fashion industry.