Someone other than President Mugabe is making headlines out of Zimbabwe and it’s for a pretty interesting reason. There’s been an uproar over the outcome of a pageant as two men fight over the title of ‘Mr Ugly’ in Harare, Zimbabwe.

As 42-year old Mison Sere was declared the winner of the fourth annual Mister Ugly Pageant on Saturday 21st November, the supporters of his predecessor, William Masvinu, broke into an uproar in protest. Their reason was simple; three times title holder, Masvinu, should have won, not Sere.

But the judges backed their decision saying Sere’s missing front teeth, and several grotesque facial expressions earned him the title.  Former Mr. Ugly, Masvinu, was visibly upset and did not agree with the basis of the judges’ decision. “I am naturally ugly. He is not. He is ugly only when he opens his mouth,” stated Masvinu. “Do we have to lose our teeth to win? This is cheating,” another contestant, Patrick Mupereki, yelled.

William Masvinu, three-time title holder of Mr Ugly
William Masvinu, three-time title holder of Mr Ugly

A female judge at the event, Abigail Mataranyika, attributed Sere’s victory to his efforts to enhance his ugliness, “Sere made tremendous effort to enhance his ugliness by pulling facial stunts,” said Mataranyika.  On the other hand, Mazvinu was too confident and felt he didn’t need to do anything more.

According to reports, the complaints of Masvinu and the other contestants holds water to an extent as the organizers of the pageant had previously announced the criteria for judging as natural ugliness. Therefore, the protesters considered Sere’s missing teeth and facial expressions as disabilities and enhancements which makes his ugliness unnatural.

Mison Sere celebrates his victory
Mison Sere celebrates his victory

Dismissing critics, Sere who walked away with the sum of over ZWD100, 000 said, “They should just accept that I am uglier than them.” Adding that he hopes to get a TV contract with his ugliness and new title. “… This is a chance to make it on TV.”

Mister Ugly, Zimbawe, was originally launched in 2012 to remove the stigma of ugliness. David Machowa, the pageant organiser said that people should be proud of their God-given features, “Looks are God-given. We should all be proud of who we are.”

A cross section of the contestants
A cross section of the contestants

The event which started with just five contestants has garnered widespread attention and a few sponsorships over the years. This year, there were 36 contestants vying for the coveted title of ‘Mr Ugly.’ By the looks of things, William Masvinu won’t get back his title any time soon as there are bound to be more entries for the pageant in coming years.

Watch highlights from the pageant below:

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