MZANSI welcomed home the newly crowned Mr Popularity in the Mister Tourism World pageant, Abednico Mabaso.
He landed at OR Tambo International Airport on Monday, February 6, from the Philippines. The event took place in the Philippines on Saturday, February 4.
Abednico, who was Mr. Mpumalanga 2022, has won two other titles: Charming Cultural Gentleman and runner-up in Multimedia.
"I know it didn't go the way we planned. But I'm filled with smiles as I accepted these awards.
"Allow me to dedicate these awards to you, Mzansi family. You have played a very important role in this journey. This award will always be dear to me. It will always remind me of the hard work I put into this competition,” he said.
His manager, Jubilation Magagule, said Abednico would go on a media tour of Mzansi by the end of February.
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“This has been a very hard journey. It took us seven months to prepare, and we had the opportunity to learn more about the tourism sector. What I like about Abednico is that he is very intelligent, and humble and can easily adapt to any environment. That's why it was so easy to let him go to Asia without me. On March 4, we will host his homecoming in Bushbuckridge. We will announce the venue in due course. We will have a private gala dinner with everyone involved, said Jabulation.
Abednico will take a break from contests before entering another one. “Maybe in the next two months."
