Miss Mutesi Jolly

Jolly Mutesi Jolly Mutesi (born 15 November 1996) is a Rwandan model, entrepreneur, motivational speaker, girl-child rights activist and advocate for women's empowerment. She was crowned Miss Rwanda 2016, and became the first woman to represent Rwanda at the Miss World pageant. Since her reign she has built a public career as a speaker, business consultant and judge, and is known for urging young people, and young women in particular, to embrace responsibility, character and national identity. Mutesi was born in Uganda and began her schooling there, before finishing primary school in Rwanda at Remera Academy. She completed lower secondary school at Kagarama Secondary School in Kicukiro, Kigali, and upper secondary school at King David Academy, where she studied history, economics and literature. She has said her journey began in 2009, when she watched Grace Bahati crowned Miss Rwanda and felt inspired to use the platform to do something for society. She was crowned Miss Rwanda on 27 February 2016 at Camp Kigali Grounds, at the age of 19, and later that year competed at Miss World in the United States, although she did not place. During her reign, she supported the Rotaract Club's project to build kitchen gardens for 50 genocide widows in Kinyinya, campaigned to warn young people about the dangers of drug abuse, and travelled to Europe to promote the Miss Rwanda initiatives, including a meeting at UNESCO. She has since served as a judge for Miss Rwanda, a role she took on in 2019, and as vice-president of the Miss East Africa organising committee. She won Best Motivational Speaker of the Year at the Zikomo Awards in Lusaka, Zambia, and in 2024 spoke at the Oxford Africa Conference gala dinner about the lessons in accountability from Rwanda's 30 years of recovery. During Kwibuka 32 in April 2026, she spoke to young people in Kigali about unity, identity and collective responsibility. She defends the pageant world as a platform for empowerment, arguing that Miss Rwanda demands far more than a glamorous dress. Quotes "When you empower a woman, you impact the nation." On why she believes beauty pageants empower women. Rwanda: There Is More to Miss Rwanda Than Dresses and Make-Up - Jolly Mutesi The New Times via allAfrica (February 28, 2022) "This is a prime opportunity to lift up my country's flag worldwide." On representing Rwanda at Miss World. Rwanda to take part in Miss World The New Times (June 29, 2016) “Community work brings together people from diverse backgrounds, working towards a common goal. The youth have the power and potential to promote unity through community work. Start involving your neighbours and take responsibility,” https://www.newtimes.co.rw/article/134346/Entertainment/miss-rwanda-takes-umuganda-to-the-hague? "...embracing Rwandan values as their identity..." On her message to the Rwandan diaspora, especially youth. Mutesi in Europe to promote Miss Rwanda initiatives The New Times (September 21, 2016) “There are many people who write to me telling me that I inspire them, but I am sure that I didn’t have an easy path, and which doesn’t define a person. There are a lot of things said about me which aren’t true. Sometimes they say that I am an arrogant person, which gives a different perception of who I am,” https://www.ktpress.rw/2020/05/miss-jolly-mutesi-to-release-autobiography-film-next-week/? "I believe beauty pageants empower women. These are platforms that elevate the ability of young women to stand for what they believe in and do something in communities. Miss Rwanda instills a sense of responsibility in a woman. When you empower a woman, you impact the nation. So we need a generation of young women that are very responsible, that are embracing responsibility, beyond-self. And, there's one thing society needs to know, as beauty queens our lives do not revolve around beauty pageants. We are talented, ambitious, beautiful women that just have a passion for beauty pageants. We are multifaceted, we have lawyers, we have doctors, we have entrepreneurs, and engineers that just have a passion for pageantry. So we shouldn't be criticized for how we choose to do things and what we choose to do and how we choose to do them. Beauty pageants, uplift young women and empower women. They do not objectify women." https://www.newtimes.co.rw/article/193912/News/there-is-more-to-miss-rwanda-than-dresses-and-make-up-a-jolly-mutesi? “I have felt like having a debt of telling youth that the path of life is not straight and that they should never give up until they get to their dreams,” https://www.ktpress.rw/2020/05/miss-jolly-mutesi-to-release-autobiography-film-next-week/? “Other than working for their graduation marks, they should give back to society through community work as it unites people from diverse backgrounds to work towards a common goal thus creating a sense of responsibility and ownership among the youth,” https://www.newtimes.co.rw/article/134346/Entertainment/miss-rwanda-takes-umuganda-to-the-hague? External links Category:Women from Rwanda Category:Models Category:Living people