Mawuse Appea has beaten 21 other beautiful and intelligent ladies to wear the coveted Miss Ghana crown. She will represent Ghana at Miss World 2009.

The beauty pageant was a test of elegance, intelligence, eloquence and overall beauty and all 22 contestants gave off their best on the night. They sashayed their curves and other vital statistics in their swim suits as they were introduced to a packed-to-capacity auditorium at the Ghana National Theatre. And when it came down to the talent hunt, the ladies proved that beauty could also be brain-deep, with remarkable poetry recitals, sketches and dance routines. They really entertained their audience but the real source of entertainment came from the professionals; hip-life sensations 5five and Kwaw Kesse were in the house to rock the show. The disbanded Nakorex (made up of Nat Brew, Akosua Agyapong and Rex Omar) also gave a one-off reunion performance later in the night.

All too soon the numbers had to be cut from 22 to 10 but not before deserving contestants who stood apart from the pack were rewarded. Nana Aba Quainoo won the prize for Miss Fitness; Mawuse Appea won Beauty with Purpose; Shirley Nwangere won Miss Personality and Miss Talent; Esther Yayra Attipoe also won Miss Eloquence; and Most Beautiful Skin went to Huberta Naa Oyoe Quartey.

The top ten contestants moved on to present their messages and project proposals on road safety, disabilities, child trafficking, unity and peace and hepatitis among several others. Ghana’s forthcoming general elections dominated the issues discussed, with contestants calling for peace during the period. They also answered questions from the judges and based on a combination of these, the final 5 were selected.

The top five had to answer a common question–‘The make or break question’–which was: “When is a woman truly satisfied?” After all five had answered this question, Mawuse was judged the best candidate for the Miss Ghana crown and stature. An obviously excited Mawuse declared her intention to work on creating awareness on Hepatitis B through out Ghana.