Cape Town - A pageant organiser and model accused of defrauding people out of their prize money and air tickets as well as issuing a falsified proof of payment has been stripped of his titles.
Kaylib Mango was crowned Mr Western Province 2021 and Mr Universal SA 2022/23.
According to the complainants, Mango held a pageant in Atlantis on March 2, where each participant had to pay R200 to enter.
Five titles were up for grabs: Miss, Mr, Mrs and Ms Gay Valentine’s Atlantis, but they say the winners never received their prize money.
The CEO of Pageants SA, Carolyn Botha, on Tuesday issued a statement, saying they were made aware of the allegations against Mango.
“It has come to our attention that several contestants and their families have reported instances of fraud, including false proof of payments and the purchase of one-way instead of return air tickets, leaving individuals stranded at airports. Pageants SA was unaware of these allegations until they were brought to our attention.
“On discovering these issues, Pageants SA immediately took action by instructing Kaylib Mango to return all excess fees charged to parents and to rectify any payments falsely made to suppliers.
“With great regret, Pageants SA announces the decision to distance ourselves from Kaylib Mango and to revoke his title of Mr Universal South Africa 2022/23. The sash awarded to him has been collected by a trusted confidant and will be returned shortly.”
Neither Pageants SA nor its affiliate organisers, OMT Pageants, led by Simone Eichler, were aware of Mango’s alleged fraudulent activities, she said.
Eichler said they stripped Mango of his Mr Western Province title in 2022 after becoming aware of alleged fraudulent activities.
“We are not affiliated with Mr Mango. Mr Mango was unfortunately crowned Mr Western Province 2021, but after many people started contacting us about his activities, we stripped him of his title and on February 7, 2022 collected the sash and trophy.”
When the Cape Argus reached out to Mango for comment, he asked thatthe story be “put on hold for now as he doesn’t want to demolish anything further as he is already in a state after a previous article has cost him his entire career and well-being”.
Police spokesperson, Anelisiwe Manyana, said two cases of fraud were under investigation and no arrests have yet been made.
Cape Argus