Mitchelle Daka is stepping into the spotlight with a mission bigger than pageantry. The Uganda-based entrepreneur is among the Top 25 delegates for Miss Universe Uganda 2026, where she represents Budaka District in the Eastern Region.
A platform rooted in mental health and emotional awareness
Daka’s advocacy theme centers on mental health and emotional awareness—an issue she says is deeply personal and tied to the life she’s lived and the people she’s loved.
- She is a founder behind Figures The Brand and the The Grounded Woman Initiative.
- Her work and public message focus on helping others recognise their feelings and speak about them with honesty and care.
Friendship with Karabo Mokoena and the tragedy that followed
Daka was among late Karabo Mokoena’s closest friends, alongside Stephanie Leong. Daka described how the bond formed after she moved to South Africa for university at the age of 21.
Speaking in reflection, Daka said: “When I was 21, I went to university in South Africa, and I met this incredible girl, and we ended up becoming best friends very quickly. She latched on to me so fast—but anyway, we ended up becoming really close friends, and being friends with her was the most incredible two years of my life.”
Karabo’s name later became part of South Africa’s history in the most devastating way. In April 2017, the 22-year-old part-time business student was murdered by her on-and-off boyfriend, forex trader Sandile Mantsoe. Prosecutors said he stabbed her, set her body alight, and left her in a field in Lyndhurst, Johannesburg.
Her death—and the brutality of it—sparked the #MenAreTrash movement and triggered a national reckoning around gender-based violence. Mantsoe received a 32-year prison sentence in 2018.
Standing by the family, keeping the dream alive
After Karabo first went missing, Daka and Leong, together with Karabo’s family, searched for her and stayed close through the trial that followed. In the years since, Daka has continued honouring her friend’s legacy by helping keep Karabo’s dream moving forward.
- Daka co-founded the Karabo Mokoena Foundation with Karabo’s sister, Bontle.
- She and her collaborators have worked with shelters and organisations supporting abused women and children.
- She also credits this ongoing involvement with shaping the advocacy she now carries into Miss Universe Uganda.
How Karabo’s personality shaped Daka—and her decision to step forward
Daka says the lessons from Karabo still guide her today. She remembers Karabo as someone who lived without holding back.
“I’d never seen anyone wear their heart on their sleeve the way she did,” Daka said. “She jumped at every opportunity. She allowed herself to be in the presence of other people and really be present… to network, make people feel good and make people feel seen. I didn’t know it at the time, just because I was always a bit quieter and more reserved, but I was really learning a lot during that process.”
In a video shared on Instagram, Daka also opened up about how losing Karabo transformed her. She said the grief hit her harder than she could ever have predicted, and that it pushed her to change how she lived.
“Losing her broke me in ways I have no way of explaining,” she said, adding that Karabo’s impact on her life led her to stop living “in the background.”
