Miss Universe South Africa, Melissa Nayimuli, has faced xenophobic abuse from online trolls relating to her parental ancestry.
The 29-year-old beauty queen was born to a Xhosa mother and a Ugandan father.
She has often spoken about her quest to end xenophobia on the African continent based on her own personal struggles.
Nayiumuli is a former Miss SA contestant who made the Top 5 in 2020 and 2023.
MELISSA NAYIMULI TROLLED OVER UGANDAN ANCESTRY
This week, Africa Beauty International announced that Melissa Nayimuli will represent South Africa at the Miss Universe pageant, which takes place next month in Thailand.
This would mark the first time since 1997 that a separate entity from the Miss SA pageant will send a representative to the global pageant.
While scores of South Africans congratulated Nayiumuli for her appointment, others trolled the 29-year-old filmmaker with comments about her ancestry.
Many of the comments were tinged with xenophobia as Nayimuli’s father is Ugandan.
‘TREATED LIKE A FOREIGNER’
It’s not the first time Melissa Nayimuli has experienced xenophobia.
During her 2020 participation at the Miss SA, she shared of her background: “I was born into a multicultural home with a Xhosa mother and a Ugandan father.”
“As exciting as this was, on one hand, I got to experience the full acceptance and love from being treated like a South African, and on occasion, with just the mere mention of my surname, I felt what it was like to be treated like a foreigner.
In 2023, Melissa Nayimuli was also trolled for her “non-South African” surname, with some latter comparing her to ex-finalist Chidimma Adetshina, who has been accused of benefitting from ID theft and fraud.
She told Nounouche magazine that her childhood had also been a challenging experience.
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She said, “When I was in primary school up to high school, I had an identity crisis because I understood what xenophobia was. Growing up, I saw how disrespectful people were towards my father, using derogatory terms…It made me very scared to admit who I was and to embrace my Ugandan heritage, where I would tell people that I am Xhosa only.
“I even tried to find a Xhosa name so that I could blend in. I would make sure that I spoke Xhosa in certain social situations so that I wasn’t attacked. It was a situation where I felt that I was a victim of something, but also the perpetrator, because I denounced one heritage of who I am to find protection within the society I lived and grew up in. But, I also saw the pain it caused my father because of my actions,
Melissa Nayimuli added that she was hopeful of tackling xenophobia by embracing her own heritage.
She continued: “So now, I make it a point whenever people ask about my heritage and who I am, I am Melissa, but I am Xhosa and Ugandan. It’s not something I want to hide anymore. I want to fully embrace it. Because then it opens up the conversations of heritage, xenophobia, about unity as Africans and really where we come from.”
