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Paxton is our girl! Paxton Fielies (17) from Bishop Lavis has been crowned South Africa’s season 13 Idol for 2017. She was announced as the winner on Sunday evening at Carnival City and was supported by an estimated 10 000 local residents who gathered at the Bishop Lavis Sports Grounds to watch a live screening of the finale. See story on page 3. PHOTO: THINK THEATRE
MISS ZEVENWACHT MALL: CENTRE MANAGEMENT DENIES ALLEGATIONS
Pageant was ‘rigged’ JAYDEE CYSTER @jaydeecyster
T
he Miss Zevenwacht Mall pageant has come under scrutiny after allegations that the pageant was rigged. The event, which took place on Saturday 4 November, saw the 12 finalists – who were selected by means of prejudging – compete for the coveted title of Miss Zevenwacht Mall. Spectator Carol de Klerk says that what was supposed to be a pageant was more of a modelling show. “Everything was han-
dled very unprofessionally by mall management, with the presenter even calling out the wrong name when announcing the winner,” says De Klerk. She also alleges that the winner of the pageant was not chosen legitimately by the tallying of the points awarded by the judges, but rather by means of favouritism on the part of mall management. Tamryn Whitton, spokesperson for Zevenwacht Mall vehemently denies this. “The centre manager, marketing manager and external events coordinator played no role in
the selection of the winners. This was done by an external panel of judges,” she says. However, a reliable source whose identity is being protected and who was closely involved in the selection of the winners, says he has heard many conflicting stories regarding the pageant. He alleges that during the second round of prejudging, which involved the interviewing of the participants, mall management specifically selected five girls they wanted to see in the group of 31 girls, later cut to the 12 finalists. He also alleges that when the winner had
to be announced, all the judges were taken to a separate room where they were shown on a laptop who the top three were. “I was not in agreement with who the top three were, and I suppose I should have said something then,” he says. He explains that pageant protocol is usually that the scoresheets are collected from the judges and tallied, and the winner is then announced without the judges ever leaving their table or being in contact with the event organiser. V To page 2.