BY SIMON NDIVE KALLA
Taku Pauline Bessem, 20-year- old Upper Sixth Student of Unic Secondary School Limbe, a resident of Mawoh quarter in Limbe I Subdivision is Miss Limbe FESTAC 2019.
Taku Pauline who hails from Nguti Subdivision, Kupe Muanenguaba Division of the South West Region, was crowned winner of the beauty contest, which took place on Friday March 29, 2019 at the Limbe City Council Hall Down Beach.
The beautiful decor of the hall with a mixture of a traditional and cultural setting, flamboyantly announced the 6th edition of Limbe FESTAC to kick off on Saturday April 6, 2019.It was a long night full as over seven hundred spectators anxiously watched 15 beauty queens in the competition.
The 15 competitors came in four different passages. The first passage was a fashion parade displaying the Limbe FESTAC traditional outfit. In the second passage, the contestants paraded in a blue and white sports outfit, smiling and curling to the judgment of four man jury which consists of Mpondo Duala, Manfred Nawongo, Njie Constance and Efange
The third passage was more of cultural as the girls were tested in their various traditional outfits, their dialect, and traditional dance. The fourth passage of the contest blew a red signal as the spectators became tensed.
This time, each contestant had to express herself in French, present a project in English. As the crowd cheered the contestants, the panel of jury headed by Mpondo Duala declared Taku Pauline Bessem winner of Miss Limbe FESTAC 2019. She bagged home the sum of FCFA 500,000.
The first runner up, Miss Sharonash Ngenya Fontem 20-year- old, a native of Mbeta Kupe Maneguaba Division and also final year student of the University of Buea studying Geography, resident in Animals Farms grabs the sum of three hundred and fifty thousand, 350.000FCFA.
Meanwhile the second runner up Miss Njomo Jeanbea Susan 22- year-old, Level 300 Midwifery student of Biaka University Institute of Buea, resident in Mokunda village, emerged as the second runner up. She bagged home the sum of FCFA 200.000
Speaking shortly after the ceremony, Miss Limbe FESTAC thanked God for granting her victory at last.
“I just want to say, I am so excited, happy and delighted to be Miss Limbe FESTAC 2019. This is my second time to participate in this competition, I never gave up, and when you fall you have to stand up and continue and push through to be able to succeed,“ Taku Pauline told the SUN.
She however revealed that she has a project to reignite in youths the importance of our mother tongue which is slowly fading away in our society. Organise workshops and seminars to educate the youths in Limbe municipality and equally encourage and promote culture.
Speaking to reporters the Chairperson of Miss Limbe FESTAC and Fashion parade Hon. Etombi Ikome Gladys said they had 72 contestants, so they had to go through the screening process and ended up with 24 and finally screening 15 according to her the competition was void of fraud and it was objective and credible result was authentic.
Donna Forbin speice the evening with poet and musicians like Nicole Mbarack also add color to the August event. Also present at the event was the SDO for Fako Engamba Emmanuel Ledoux, the Government Delegate to the Limbe City Council, Motanga Andrew Monjimba, vision bearer of Limbe FESTAC, among others dignitaries.