Three former beauty queens of the Miss Ghana Pageant recently let open a horrible can of worms regarding what transpires behind the scenes of the yearly competition. Each of the ex-queens narrated very similar ordeals they went through in the hands of the organisers of the pageant, Exclusive Events, both before and after they won the contest, especially in the hands of the CEO, Inna Patty.
The mind boggling experiences which range from abuse and exploitation, verbal and physical assault, down to pimping, extortion and breach of agreements have left every ear which heard it tingling. The shocking revelations have also left many wondering how these have went on and on over the years unnoticed and unquestioned.
These incredible revelations come on the heels of rumours that the current beauty queen, Margaret Dery who won Miss Ghana 2017, is facing similar abusive situation in the hands of Inna Patty and Exclusive Events Ghana.
In the bid to dig out the truth, Chris-Vincent Agyapong Febiri of GhanaCelebrities. Com, individually interviewed Stephanie Karikari (Miss Ghana 2010), Antoinette Delali Kemavor (Miss Ghana 2015) and Giuseppina Nana Akua Baafi (Miss Ghana 2013) who summoned up courage to spill the beans this time.
You won’t believe that most of these young queens come to the Miss Ghana house rich and happy but go away bankrupt and ripped of all joy and benefits the public are made to believe they are showered with! Funny enough, agreements for the pageant is divided into two. The first one which which sounds more acceptable is just read out to the hearing of the 20 final contestants on their arrival at the Exclusive Events house without copies given out to them for a more detailed perusal. Another more ridiculously stringent and extortionate one is presented to the winner after she has been crowned – then, it’s no going back.
You will also find it difficult to believe that these crowned queens who are often around the age of 18 are compelled to raise as much as GHC10,000 every month, $10,000 for their Miss World Beauty Contest registration, provide their transport fares, as well as pay for their clothing throughout the competition and year of reign. Worse still, they are for one reason or the other, deprived of their allowances and the various prizes they have won at the end of the day.
It is not just restricted to financial oppression, but the queens are also meant to use their bodies to attract rich old men who would in turn bring their money to sponsor the event. Stephanie Karikari, winner of the Miss Ghana Pageant in 2010 narrated how Inna Patty made things very difficult for her just because she was not dancing to her suggestive tunes to make money for her outfit.
It got so bad that Inna told Stephanie to her face that she is not beautiful enough to be projected on the same billboard with Miss World. And she didn’t just stop there, she made sure Stephanie never made it to the world competition.
She also recounted how Inna arranged for subtle late night meetings with ‘big men’ during which she [Stephanie] was expected to flow with every ‘dictate’ of the men in the bid to sniff out money from them. The then beauty queen who would not succumb to her deception was made to go through all forms of horrible experience as punishment for her disobedience.
Delali Kemavor, winner of Miss Ghana 2015 also recounted how Inna Patty apparently arranged for her to sleep over at a man’s place without her consent. But when she declined, the man was utterly surprised, exposing Inna’s subtility. The queens each described Inna Patty as manipulative, sweet-mouthed, deceptive and very difficult to relate with.
On some occasions, Inna deducted the cost of gift items given to them from their monthly allowances whenever they ‘misbehaved’. She also slashes their allowances if they fail to meet up with targets pitched to them.
They are also, per the contract agreements, not allowed to be employed or engaged in any way by any of their sponsoring individuals, groups or organisations as long as two years after their reign, making their contact with opportunities completely non-beneficial to them. The ex-queens confessed to gaining absolutely nothing from their reigns as Miss Ghana, as they were only used as “escorts” by Inna Party to fund her agency and the “glorified” Miss Ghana Pageant.
Listen to the individual audios yourself:
Meanwhile, Myjoyonline.com report has disclosed that organisers of the Miss Ghana pageant called an emergency meeting as late as 10pm Sunday after the expose hit the media.
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