Kempton Park matric’s ‘Mean Girls’-style campaign goes viral, catches Missy Elliott’s attention
· Citizen
A group of matric students at Hoërskool Jeugland, in Kempton Park, has turned a school leadership race into a full-blown viral moment and landed a shout-out from Grammy winner Missy Elliott in the process.
The campaign video for Koketso “Koki” Bogashu was posted by TikTok user Lelo (@l4ylow_), and it borrows its structure directly from the Regina George introduction in Mean Girls (2004).
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Instead of Koki listing her own achievements, her classmates and some staff take turns explaining how she’s influenced them: wearing glasses because she does, taking up physics, joining the rugby team, studying harder, or simply trying to do their jobs better.
Missy Elliott’s 2003 hit Pass That Dutch, from This Is Not a Test!, plays over the recreation.
@l4ylow._Who is Koki???? watch until the end #votekoki2027 #tiktoksa #headgirl #viral #foryou
♬ original sound – Lelo
How it blew up
Lelo’s original TikTok reportedly pulled in around 1.3 million views. Things escalated on 6 September 2026, when X user @hlovo_ reposted the clip with the caption “This is brilliant. She has to be the head girl bro” – a post that has since drawn over a million further views and a flood of quote-tweets comparing Koki to a seasoned political candidate.
Then Missy Elliott herself weighed in, replying on X: “I don’t know Koki, but she got the people rooting for her.”
I don’t know koki but she got the people rooting for her
— Missy Elliott (@MissyElliott) September 6, 2026
That single line is largely credited with pushing the story from a local TikTok trend into international news. South African media personalities Sizwe Dhlomo and Anele Mdoda, Imprint designer Mzukisi Mbane and singer Langa Mavuso also threw their public support behind the campaign.
The reaction
Online, the response has ranged from genuine admiration to full comedic bit. Commenters have called for “Koki for President,” pitched a Missy Elliott SA tour as a reward for a win, and repeatedly framed Koki as Hoërskool Jeugland’s own Regina George – this time as a compliment.
Head girl and head boy races typically run on the familiar formula: speeches, posters, a pitch about responsibility and academic credentials. Koki’s campaign showed creativity, letting her peers make the case for her through imitation rather than a resume.