Qhawekazi Mazaleni

Qhawekazi Mazaleni (born 2001) is a South African beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss South Africa 2025. She will represent her country at Miss World 2026.

Mazaleni was born and raised in a suburb of East London in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.^[1][2] She attended Beaconhurst High School and later completed a degree in Speech, Language, and Hearing Therapy at Stellenbosch University.^[3] As of 2026, she is pursuing postgraduate studies a Master of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology degree from the University of Pretoria.^[4][5]

Mazaleni is a qualified speech-language therapist who has worked with children, including those with cerebral palsy and autism spectrum disorders.^[6][7] She is also a children's author, having published an isiXhosa children's book, Amasele Amdaka.^[8] The book is designed to teach reading and counting skills in a home language. She plans to have the book translated into South Africa's other official languages and to create educational resources and workshops for teachers, parents, and students in underserved communities.^[9]

Mazaleni entered the 67th edition of the Miss South Africa pageant in 2025 and was selected as a finalist alongside eight others.^{[10][11][12][13][14]} On 25 October 2025, she was crowned the new Miss South Africa 2025 by her predecessor Mia le Roux.^[15][16][17] She was not sent to Miss Universe 2025 due to license issues under the new management of Miss South Africa and was instead sent to Miss World 2026.^[18]