Kenya’s Ivy Trizah Muhenje Akala has finished in the Top 20 at Miss World 2026, delivering one of the country’s strongest performances at the global beauty pageant.
Muhenje was among the African contestants who progressed through the various stages of the competition before securing a place in the Top 20 at the grand finale held in Vietnam on Saturday, September 5, 2026.
The 75th Miss World Festival brought together 111 contestants from around the world, with competitors taking part in a series of fast-track challenges, cultural activities and the main pageant events before the final coronation.
At the end of the competition, Joheirry Mola of the Dominican Republic emerged as Miss World 2026.
Although Muhenje did not progress beyond the Top 20 cut, her performance placed her among the leading African contestants at this year’s competition.
Muhenje was one of five African representatives who advanced to the global Top 20, alongside contestants from South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Senegal.
Her Top 20 finish gave Kenya a strong showing at a competition that featured contestants from more than 100 countries.
Importantly, Muhenje does not have an officially published numerical position such as third or fifth in Africa. Her confirmed achievement is her Top 20 global placement, while her individual challenge performances gave her several high rankings on the African leaderboard.
Her performance also made her one of the most successful African contestants in several of the competition’s preliminary challenges.
Muhenje built momentum throughout the Miss World Festival by performing strongly in several fast-track competitions.
In the Sports Challenge, she finished Top 3 in Africa and Top 24 worldwide.
She also secured a Top 5 position in Africa in the Multimedia Challenge, where contestants were judged on their ability to communicate their stories and connect with audiences through digital platforms.
Muhenje’s performance in the Head-to-Head Challenge also earned her a place among the Top 5 African contestants, while she progressed to the global Top 20.
She further reached the Top 6 in Africa in the Top Model competition, finishing Top 21 worldwide in the second round.
In the Beauty With a Purpose competition, Muhenje also made the Top 6 in Africa and Top 24 worldwide.
The series of results demonstrated her versatility beyond the traditional pageant runway, with Muhenje competing across sports, modelling, communication, digital media and social-impact categories.
One of the key components of Muhenje’s Miss World campaign was her Beauty With a Purpose project, “Showing Love Behind Bars.”
The initiative works with Clean Start Africa to support incarcerated mothers and their children at Lang’ata Women’s Prison.
The project placed attention on the challenges faced by mothers serving prison sentences, particularly the welfare and wellbeing of children who remain with their mothers while they are incarcerated.
Through the initiative, Muhenje used her Miss World platform to highlight a social issue beyond the pageant itself.
Beauty With a Purpose remains one of the most important elements of the Miss World competition, with contestants expected to champion causes that create a positive impact in their communities.
The Tourism Management graduate and professional model had previously finished as the first runner-up in the 2024/2025 national edition before eventually securing the national crown and earning the opportunity to represent Kenya internationally.
The competition also gave her an opportunity to promote Kenya’s culture, tourism and social causes on an international platform.
