Beauty queen Cheryl misses court deadline

Beauty queen Cheryl Ankrah failed to comply with the deadline set by the court on Friday, for filing her affidavits in response to Peter Elias and Associates’ six signed affidavits by judges of the local Miss Universe pageant to remove Ankrah as Trinidad and Tobago’s representative in the upcoming international pageant. Ankrah was given a March 10 deadline to complete her filing of affidavits before trial which begins on Tuesday, March 15.

Ankrah is being represented by Denyse Gouviea. Attorney representing Peter Elias and Associates, Om Lalla, confirmed that the six judges who filed affidavits in support of the pageant company are Wendy Fitzwilliam, Dominic Kalipersad, Barbara Mouttet, Calvin French, Yvonne Popplewell and Suzanne Sabeeney. According to Lalla, each affidavit outlined contractual issues to set out terms and conditions to determine a breach. Three of the ten judges, president of TIDCO Vishnu Dhanpaul, TIDCO board member Donna Cox and manager of Film Unit/TIDCO Carla Foderingham have not filed affidavits. Elias informed Sunday Newsday that employees of TIDCO were not approached “out of protocol” because of their working relationship.

The pageant company was also responsible for securing employment for Ankrah at TIDCO. The pageant company sought to disqualify Ankrah last month from representing Trinidad and Tobago in the Miss Universe pageant carded for May 31 in Thailand, because she allegedly failed to live up to a schedule of training in preparation for the pageant. She has since filed an injunction against Peter Elias and Associates in her defence.