adminAuxilia Katongomara Entertainment Correspondent
FOUNDERS of the Mr Ugly pageant have decided to clip the wings of dubious licence holders who are conducting the show without their consent.This time the Beitbridge-based founders have decided to seek an international licence which will see them patenting the show and becoming its sole organisers and hosts.
They said the pageant, which some have described as inhumane, would be protected as they were working on acquiring an international licence before more “hyenas” take advantage of their brainchild.
One of the organisers, Lovemore Chonzi, breathed fire in an interview and said once they secured the licence, they would sue everyone who had been “pirating” the Mr Ugly contest.
“We have since applied for a licence to host an international show and that is what we are waiting for because here people have hijacked our idea and several shows are mushrooming here and there,” he said.
Chonzi said after getting the licence, the show was set to go international. The idea of Mr Ugly was mooted by a group of people called the Veranda Boys in the border town back in 2010 and started as a joke but has slowly garnered support and appreciation in the country.
Chonzi could, however, not disclose how the international show would be organised or whether they would host a national pageant before the international show.
Nevertheless, he did not mince his words as he expressed disappointment over people who were infringing on their intellectual rights.
“When we started the Mr Ugly show, people were laughing but now they are using my name to make money. After getting an international licence we are going after all those that have hosted pageants without our consent.
“We will be dating back to the time they began hosting shows and our lawyers will be dealing with that,” he said.
This year, Chonzi and his crew shelved their own edition which they aimed to take to Gwanda and Chiredzi as well because they are awaiting the international licence.
Prominent Bulawayo lawyer Matshobana Ncube said the founders of the pageant must first register a trademark for their pageant as they might lose out in the event that the “dubious” organisers register first.
“I do not want to say much but there is a possibility that there could be a court battle between the two parties. Since the originators have been slow to move to protect their right, if the others register first, they will face a tough battle to prove they were the first to come up with the idea,” said Ncube.
The Mr Ugly show was inaugurated in 2010 in Beitbridge where Elmas Moses, popularly known as VaChiganda, won the competition.
In 2011, 30-year-old Austin Mbewe shrugged off stiff competition from Kudakwashe Chiramba (45) and Chitova Chizhira (39) to win the pageant.
The Harare edition of the pageant is organised by David “Apama” Machowa who hails from Beitbridge but is now based in the capital.
This year’s Harare edition saw William Masvinu retaining the title which proved that hideous men were either scarce or Masvinu himself was the ugliest man in the capital.
Masvinu was recently paraded in the Harare city centre together with his wife and had a mock wedding held in celebration of his ugliness.
Online Reporter