The hearing of the case involving Cruise People Limited and Ghanaian artiste Mohammed Ismail Sherif aka Black Sherif has been adjourned to November 16, 2023. 

Joy FM's entertainment journalist, Kwame Dadzie, reports that when both parties appeared at the Adenta High Court earlier today, the Judge, Her Ladyship Mariama Sammo ordered that instead of hearing verbal arguments from the Plaintiff and Defendant, their lawyers should write the legal arguments and file them by November 2, 2023.

Defendant (Black Sheriff) had filed a motion that Ghana (and for that matter the high court in Adenta) had no jurisdiction to determine the case because according to him the contract for his performance stipulates that any legal proceedings shall be heard in United Kingdom.

Cruise People Limited, through its lawyers also filed an affidavit in opposition on grounds that the Adenta High Court has jurisdiction to hear and determine the case because both parties are Ghanaians and ply their trades in Ghana.

In attendance were Black Sherif’s road manger Frederick Osei aka Aubrey, the plaintiff Daniel Vanderpuye, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Cruise People Limited and their counsels. 

Background

Black Sherif was sued for allegedly failing to honour the agreement leading to the cancellation of the Afro Cruise Jam concert he had been scheduled for in August, 2023.

The company, therefore, is demanding 100,000 compensation for losses made. 

According to Cruise People Limited, after booking Black Sherif for the cruise and paying half of his booking fee ($20,000), the ‘Kwaku The Traveller' hitmaker was expected to make a video confirming his participation in the event in Greece.

Vandepuje claimed that after assurances that Black Sherif will send the video ahead of the media launch on May 19, the company paid $18,000 to secure cabins on the cruise and paid GH₵65,000 to Joy FM for the launch on Drive Time.

Recounting how it all started, Vanderpuye revealed that he had reached out to Black Sherif’s team on the possibility of him performing on a cruise ship - an event he was planning for Ghanaians in the diaspora.

He told Joy FM's Kwame Dadzie that after initial discussions with Blacko’s team headed by one Mini Aidoo, an agreed date of August 19 and a payment of $40,000 was reached.

But, the singer’s team, he said, wanted a down payment of $20,000 and subsequently asked them to communicate with Eko Talent Agency, a company responsible for all overseas bookings for Black Sherif.

Mr Vanderpuye said they were sent a contract to sign by the booking agency to confirm their intentions and thereafter the initial deposit was wired as requested.

The businessman said that following the contract signing they fulfilled their end of the bargain and expected Black Sherif to do the same by confirming his participation with a 10-15 seconds video that would be used for ads.

He stated that the booking agency assured them the video will be made available prior to a media launch on May 19.

“The contract was signed on April 28, and we were expecting to have the video between the week of the 10th of May. We were in communication with Eko Talent and they kept telling us we will get the video until the d-day of our media launch and they forced Black Sherif to make a video call to me,” he said.

Mr Vanderpuye said Black Sherif in the presence of his manager informed him they had other interview obligations in the US [where he was at the time] and thus could only make the video available after.

That request did not sit well with the businessman since he had requested the video weeks earlier. However, he noted that despite agreeing to the new plan, the video was still not made available to them.

“The next day, I realised that something was going on, so I called our lawyers and said let's write to them. So, on May 22 we sent this breach of agreement letter to them.”

He said despite the breach of contract, they were ready to make any changes or other proposals.

Mr Vanderpuye said in the two months, he had used all available resources to reach out to Black Sherif and his team, including industry persons like Sadiq Abdulai Abu, Amakye Dede and Gramps Morgan, but to no avail.