You have to agree with me that the year 2014 has been a very eventful year. Heck, I don’t even care if you agree with me or not, I know it has been an eventful year for better, for worse and for the very terrible too in politics, entertainment, sports and religion.
I am going to try to capture some of the most momentous moments in the year. Indeed, as you may know, man’s memory is very choosy and fickle and if you have not made notes of the things you want to write about at the end of the year, you are likely to miss some and more. But, “Insha Allah, I shall consult” and do my best.
DEATH AND DISAPPEARANCE
Let’s start on a sad note with major deaths in the year.
Komla Dumor: It did not take too long after we had entered the New Year for the first major news of death to hit us. One of our own, the man who was touted by many, including yours truly, as the greatest broadcaster to emerge from Ghana in the last decade, took a bow.
On the afternoon of January 18, rumours started trickling in that The Boss Player may have taken leave of us into “asamando”. Most of the calls that came wanted a confirmation or rather otherwise. Then social media took on the news and the news took on a life of its own. Eventually the family, through its spokesperson, confirmed the story. The story that most had hoped would be false that the legendary Komla Dumor of the BBC was no more.
The shock, the awe, the astonishment that gripped Ghana, Africa and the world over this death was as palpable as any sudden and major death can be. Komla who was survived by wife, Kwansema, and three children received a ton of posthumous awards, honours and accolades.
Fennec Okyere: The murder of music artiste’s manager Fennec Okyere in his home will go down in history as one of the most gruesome murders to have taken place in this country. The gore that was reported from the crime scene was terrible enough to gobsmack any right thinking person.
The killing of rapper, Kwaw Kesse’s manager took place on March 13 and as of December 24 (as I write this piece) no concrete proof of who the murderer was has been announced by the police.
A few days after the death of Okyere, Nana Asiamah Hanson or Bulldog, another artiste manager was accused by the police of having knowledge of the death. Bulldog eventually got bailed, but that case against him is still pending in court.
Kofi Ansah: One of Africa’s and Ghana’s foremost designers kicked the bucket in May this year at the age of 62. The man who studied designing at and graduated with first class honours from the Chelsea School of Arts arrived in Ghana in 1992 after he had lived and worked in the UK.
Among the many heroics that Kofi Ansah achieved in the fashion industry was that he managed to change the fashion scene in Ghana and Africa with his oven style. In the process, he sold the continent very well and got its fashion onto main stream haute couture.
He designed the official anniversary cloth when Ghana celebrated 50 years of independence in 2007 and also designed the costumes for the performers at the opening and closing ceremonies at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2008.
P.K. Yamoah: In late August one of the musicians whose work I like most passed away. I am not sure anyone loves the highlife song Serwaa Akoto more than I do. I love that song to bits and so was hit hard when I heard of the death of the man who composed it.
Peter Kwabena Yamoah or P.K. Yamoah joined the ancestors this year at the age of 86. Serwaa Akoto may be his defining song but he is known for other great highlife songs as well including Fa Asem Kye, Onantefo, Obido Me, Sika Mpe Rough, and Nya Asem Hwe.
However, if the man who formed the great Yamoah’s Band is known for something lasting it has to be for his nurturing of some of the big name musicians like Nana Kwame Ampadu.
“P.K Yamoah is also credited with grooming the likes of Agyarku and Smart Nkansah who went on to form the Sunsum Band and Lee Duodu of Bisa Goma and Akoo Tse Brofo fame,” the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) said in a statement.
Other deaths: Two other major deaths that rocked the entertainment industry were those of Sima Ibrahim who was the CEO of Exopa Modelling agency and Odompo, the actor from Obra and Akan Drama back in the day. Sima, who had been jailed over drug trafficking was said to have died after a football match in the prison where he was held. Odompa, known in real life as Richard Kwame Agyeman, died after a short illness at the age of 60. They have both been buried.
Castro’s disappearance: One of the saddest pieces of news to have hit this country in general and the entertainment industry in particular was the unfortunately incidence that took place at Ada in the middle of the year.
Black Stars captain, Asamoah Gyan, and his friends, including singer and rapper Castro, had gone to the Ada for a short holiday. Unfortunately, Castro and another lady friend, Janet Bandu, were reported to have fallen in the water while riding a Jet Ski.
There was a massive manhunt involving the marine police and people in the neighbourhood for many days around where the incident happened. However, neither Castro nor the lady was seen in the water, on the beach/bank or anywhere else.
After sometime, the police called off the search and after many weeks of keeping mute over the matter they were jolted by series of stories from the likes of Lawyer Maurice Ampaw and musician, Akoo Nana that they were forced to hold a press conference on the matter.
Most of the things the police said were already known to the public. They also added that despite calling off the search, Castro would not be declared dead until after seven years. Alhough Castro is not around to be seen performing on different stages, he is not officially dead and must be treated as such.
Ironically, this was the year in which he picked an award at the Vodafone Ghana Music Award for Highlife Song of the Year and the year in which most of his songs and collaboration with other artistes became very popular.
It was a sad end to a brilliant career. However, we all are keeping our hopes alive that one day, Theophilus Tagoe will emerge from wherever he has been for the past six months to continue serving us those great music pieces he alone knew how to do.
CONTROVERSIES
Conflict is the main ingredient that makes drama tick. When conflict moves into the arena of controversy in show business it throws up a whole new kettle of fish.
Charterhouse and Shatta Wale: The Shatta Wale and Charterhouse issues had been snowballing for a while. Since he accused the event production company of stealing his award for Kaakie at the 2013 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards a bad blood was created between the two.
The dancehall artiste would apologise to Charterhouse at the death of last year thus opening the way for his nomination for awards at the 2014 VGMA. Some said it was bad precedent to insult, apologise and be pardoned. Some, including yours truly, said if he had apologised there was no need to hold anything against him.
When the time came for VGMA he got nominated and yet another controversy occurred when he claimed to have asked to be paid GH¢70,000 but was refused and thus disrespectful to him. He didn’t show up at the event although he won a few awards, including the Artiste of the Year award.
There was post event mudslinging including a-not-so-thank-you song he made for Charterhouse. Charterhouse also held a press conference to, among other things, set the record on the Shatta Wale issues straight.
It didn’t end there. Sometime in the year, the musician said he had it on record that Charterhouse’s sister television station GhOne had refused to play his videos. He went on to record series of videos against the station and its CEO, Iyiola Ayoade.
They did not take kindly to this last act by the Korle Gonno Godfather and because they deemed his videos to be defamatory, they sued him for GH¢10million as well as series of apology and retraction videos.
That case has been going up and down the courts with minor technical issues to be cleared before any determination in favour of either party. We shall find out when is said and done whether Charterhouse will have their 10million or that Shatta Wale was within his rights to slam and dunk on the biggest event organisers in the manner he did.
GHAMRO controversies:The Ghana Music Rights Organisation or GHAMRO which is the authorised company to collect music rights on behalf of copyright owners had its fair share of controversies in the year.
Right from the beginning of the year when the issues from 2013 were carried over, we never saw an end in sight of the issues that had bedevilled GHAMRO till now. Some of the members of the organisation, including even some members of the board, had accused the Interim Management Committee led by Carlos Sakyi of lack of accountability, overstaying their tenure, among others.
After many debates on radio, TV and in the press as well as holding of many forums to deliberate, argue, debate and attempt to find solutions to the issues (including a massive press conference at the International Press Centre) not yielding the needed results, some of the members took the matter to court.
The courts responded by dissolving the board and interim management while appointing another group termed receiver managers to oversee the transition from the previous leadership to another one. They had six months to do this. Meanwhile, the substantive matter was still pending in court.
It seemed from the outside that all may be going well with GHAMRO at some point. The receiver managers had scheduled an Annual General Meeting to present their report and to hold elections as directed by the court. Then another member placed an injunction on the elections and it seemed we were back to where we started.
The receiver managers seem to be in limbo as their tenure was nearing expiration and we wait to see how this new development will play out in the coming days.
…To be continued
