Ghanaian musician and entrepreneur MzBel has revealed that openly declaring her support for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) came with significant personal and professional consequences.
Speaking in a recent interview with Kafui Dey, MzBel said she lost fans, events and business opportunities after becoming vocal about her political affiliation.
“Before I came out fully as an NDC member, showed my face as an NDC member, I had followers and fans from NPP. But then I boldly came out and started talking for my party. So automatically I’ll lose all those people,” she said.
According to her, some of the events she previously performed at were no longer available to her.
“I was blacklisted from some events that I used to get every year. They were organised by NPP people. And even when NPP came to power, I lost a lot of their deals,” she disclosed.
MzBel recalled an incident where she was removed from a show shortly before the event because of the political affiliation of the guest of honour.
“I remember there was a show at Mervyn Peak I was supposed to perform. A few days before the show, they called me and said their guest of honour is one big NDC woman, an NPP woman. And because of her, they have to take me off the show,” she recounted.
She added that some shows outside Ghana were also cancelled after she had promoted them.
“Not just that, even shows outside Ghana. They will cancel me later after I’ve posted the flyer. So if I didn’t come out to say that I am NDC, defending my party and all of that, I would have been doing well,” she said.
MzBel also spoke about the backlash she received from some people within the party.
“I lost half of my fans. I lost half of my fan base. And the party I followed too, well, it didn’t do me any good,” she stated.
She said she was also attacked, insulted and threatened by some individuals.
“People in the party physically and verbally attacked me, insulted me, called me out on social media, threatened to beat me and all of that,” she said.
MzBel explained that her love for the NDC came from her upbringing in Jamestown and her admiration for former President Jerry John Rawlings.
“It was Rawlings and Jamestown. It’s all about Rawlings and NDC. It became like a religion for us,” she said.
However, she said the experience had taught her a lesson, and she no longer wants to belong to any political party.
“It’s not even about the party, but it’s a lesson I was supposed to learn. And I have learned that lesson,” she stated.
MzBel concluded: “I’m not NDC. I’m not NPP. I’m not. I’m nothing. I’m just a Ghanaian. And I decide whether I want to vote or not.”
