[ 2014-12-29 ]

2014: The good, the bad and the ugly
In less than two days, the world will bid farewell
to the year 2014 which birthed many events. For
the Ghanaian Showbiz fraternity, 2014 hasn’t
really been good with records of death.

But despite death laying its icy hands on some
personalities, the year also recorded some
interesting incidents.

In this piece, “the good, the bad, and the
ugly”, stories that shocked and amazed which
will be highlighted in this column.

A recap of stories that made headlines and news in
Showbiz.

Deaths
The media fraternity was hit with the shocking
news of the death of Komla Afeke Dumor. He died on
January 18. Until his death, Komla was the host of
BBC’s Focus on Africa. His death was a blow not
just to Ghanaians but to Africa and the world.

It was such an unpleasant news when in the early
hours of Thursday, March 13, news broke in that
manager of hiplife artiste, Kwaw Kese, Fennec
Okyere, had been murdered at his Manet Court
residence. The year is almost ended and those
behind the heinous crime are yet to be arrested.

On May 3, the unfortunate news of the death of
fashion icon, Kofi Ansah, was received. He died at
the Korle-Bu Teaching hospital at age 63.

In March, another death was recorded of artiste,
Araz. Known in real life as Peter Aryee, Araz was
murdered at his Weija residence. Until his death,
Araz was the Chief of Joma, a village in the
Greater Accra Region.

In May, bubbly TV presenter and hostess of GTV’S
Movie Chatroom, Irene Asante died on May 14. Irene
was scheduled to tie the knot some few weeks
before she passed away at the age of 42. She was
the former wife music producer, Hammer of the Last
Two Music Group and manager for female artiste,
Mzbel.

The Akan Drama scene was not spared of the deaths.
Veteran actor, Richard Kwame Agyeman, popularly
known in the Akan drama series, Obra, as Odompo
passed on October 21. He was 60 years.

When we all thought the year would end with no
death anymore, the unexpected death of the CEO of
Exopa Modeling Agency, Ibrahim Sima. According to
an autopsy report, he died from acute
appendicitis.

Controversies
Juliet confirms break up

Despite the many speculations of crashed marriage
which she has always denied, actress, Juliet
Ibrahim, in June finally confirmed the breakup of
her marriage to Kwadwo Safo Kantanka Jnr. She
revealed that she had been divorced for two
years.

Miss Ghana resigns
Miss Ghana 2013, Giussepina Baafi, resigned of her
position as the Miss Ghana. She gave
irreconcilable differences as the reason for her
resignations. It was one of the biggest news on
the entertainment calendar in 2014.

World Cup Scandal
Despite the poor performance of the Black Stars in
Brazil, there were many scandals the pursued them
even after the tournament. Report of the
embezzlement of funds was key but what drew the
attention of showbiz fanatics was the allegation
that the female ambassadors were engaged in sexual
favours from the players. It was one the biggest
news in the year.

Castro’s ‘demise’
Where is Castro? This is the question on everyone
lips till now. Sunday, July 6, will definitely go
down in history as one of the saddest days for the
music industry. It was the day that Castro went
missing when in the company of some friends
including Black Stars captain, Asamoah Gyan went
to have fun at Ada. Reports that later came in had
it that the hiplife artiste, who with a female
friend had gone jet skiing never returned.

As of now, no one knows the whereabouts of the
two.

Grace Ashy exam shame
It was definitely not a good year for gospel
artiste, Graze Ashy who was suspended from the
Methodist University in July for cheating during
examination. Even though she denied, a statement
issued out by the school authorities confirmed the
story.

Tiffany’s Sex tapes
Perhaps, she is no stranger to leaked tapes but on
November 7, female rapper, Tiffany, might have the
shock of her life when her leaked sex-tape popped
up. She later accused her ex-husband, who she is
fighting over the custody of their son as the one
behind the leaked tapes.

Court cases
In January 2014, rapper Apaatse dragged Ghanaian
technology company, rLG to court for illegal use
of his Wedding Day song as the default ringing
tone on their android phones without his knowledge
and approval. The case is still pending in court
and sources say, out of court settlement is on the
table now.

The last quarter of 2014, event company,
Charterhouse and dancehall artiste, Shatta Wale
have been in and out of court for a defamation
suit brought against the latter.

It was a welcome decision taken against a musician
by a major company. Personally, I think if Shatta
Wale had any grievances against Charterhouse, he
had a beret way to handle it than insult them.

Comedian and musician, A-Plus, was dragged to
court by Lawyer Maurice Apaw for what he claimed
were defamatory comments made by A Plus against
his person. The case was withdrawn and the two
settled their differences.

Kwaw Arrest
Controversial rapper, Kwaw Kese, was arrested by
the police in Kumasi for smoking a substance
suspected to be cannabis at a pub in Nhyiaseo, a
suburb of Kumasi. He has been refused bail even
though he has taken ill and has been admitted at
the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. The world
waits for the outcome as he will appear in court
again on January 5.

Lawrence Hanson popularly known as Bulldog was
also arrested as a prime suspect in the murder
case of Fennec Okyere. He has been bailed as
investigation continues.

Female producers
In 2014, lots of female actresses became producers
and had their own movies.

Amongst them were Nana Ama McBrown, Zynnell Lydia
Zuh, Yvonne Nelson, Yvonne Okoro, Nadia Buari,
Kafui Danku and Lydia Forson.

Big Brother Hotshots
This year, Ghanaians did not fully participate in
Africa’s biggest reality show, Big Brother
Africa when Ghanaians auditioned in Ghana were
swapped with Ghanaians based in South Africa.

Best Shows
The Versatile Show by Okyeame Kwame by all
standards was the best show I attended in 2014.
Miss year’s Miss Malaika pageant would be my
second best show in 2014.

Of course, I couldn’t have recollected and
written about all that happened in 2014. Happy New
Year!

Source - Daily Guide

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