“It wasn’t us”: Bushiri’s Goshen City enters Miss Malawi row

…Reveals Thandi Chisi was not considered for Miss World

…Defends Ireen Navicha’s selection while denying involvement

The Miss Malawi controversy took another dramatic turn on Friday after Prophet Shepherd Bushiri’s Goshen City broke its silence, revealing that reigning Miss Malawi Thandi Chisi was never considered for the Miss World opportunity while defending the selection of First Princess Ireen Navicha.

Speaking through Bushiri’s spokesperson, Aubrey Kusakala, the competition’s principal sponsor also sought to distance itself from the controversial decision, insisting that it neither administers the Miss Malawi pageant nor decides which contestants represent the country at international competitions.

“It is important to clarify that Goshen City is the principal sponsor of Miss Malawi, not its administrator,” Kusakala said in a statement. “Decisions regarding contestants and international representation are made by the Miss Malawi Secretariat and Board. It is therefore unfair to blame Goshen City, Prophet Shepherd Bushiri or Prophetess Mary Bushiri for administrative decisions that they do not directly control.”

The statement offers a different account of events from the one that has dominated public debate over the past week. According to Kusakala, Chisi was offered the opportunity to represent Malawi at Miss Universe on 30 June 2026, but declined the offer “for personal reasons.”

He said it was only after another international opportunity later became available that the Miss Malawi Secretariat selected Navicha, claiming that the Miss World Organisation required contestants to be between 17 and 26 years old at the time of entry.

Consequently revealing that Thandi Chisi was never considered for the Miss World slot. The claim that Chisi was offered the Miss Universe and declined the offer throws the argument by the Miss Malawi organisation that claimed Chisi was being considered tfor the Miss Universe. Bushiri’s spokesperson reveals that she had already turned that down.

Goshen City also defended Navicha’s selection, saying it was consistent with a policy announced by the organisation’s Board Chairperson Prophetess Mary Bushiri during the pageant’s grand finale that international opportunities would not be reserved exclusively for the overall winner.

“This decision [of choosing Ireen Navicha over Thandi Chisi] was also in line with the Board’s new approach to creating opportunities for all finalists. During the Miss Malawi grand finale, the Board Chairperson, Prophetess Mary Bushiri, stated that international opportunities would not be limited to the winner alone, but would also be made available to the first and second runners-up, as well as other finalists. She made it clear that if one titleholder was unable to take up an opportunity, another deserving contestant should be given the chance to represent Malawi”, reads the statement.

The statement does not explain why Ireen Navicha was not offered the opportunity to represent Malawi at Miss Universe after Thandi Chisi had reportedly turned it down weeks before the Miss World opportunity arose. It also does not explain why the Miss Malawi Organisation later insisted that Thandi was still being considered for Miss Universe if, as Goshen City now claims, she had already declined the offer.

However, despite defending the principle behind Navicha’s selection, Goshen City insisted the decision itself was made by the Miss Malawi Secretariat and Board rather than the sponsor. The latest intervention comes as the Miss Malawi Organisation faces growing scrutiny over its changing, and at times, contraditing explanations for snubbing Chisi.

The organisation initially said Chisi was ineligible because of her age. After Malawi24 established that the 27-year-old met Miss World’s published eligibility requirements and would still be 27 when the Miss World final is held on 5 September this year, it told Malawi24 that the deciding factor was her lack of international pageant experience. That explanation, however, raises fresh questions: If Chisi lacked the international pageant experience required for Miss World, why was she reportedly offered, as Goshen City now claims, or at least being considered, as the Miss Malawi Organisation previously maintained, to represent Malawi at Miss Universe?

On Friday, the Miss Malawi organisation abandoned that inexperience explanation and returned to the age issue, producing what it described as communication from the Miss World Organisation stating contestants should not be older than 26 years.

Malawi24 could not independently verify the authenticity of that document or confirm that it reflects Miss World’s current eligibility requirements. Miss World’s published eligibility criteria state contestants can be between 17 and 27 years old, and the organisation has already confirmed several 27-year-old contestants for this year’s competition.