A two-day training for bar tenders across the country has been held in Accra.

The Barcadi Ghana Office – TRADAL S.A (A member of the Barcadi Martini Group), and local representatives of some of the world’s leading alcoholic drinks including Grey Goose Vodka, Bombay Sapphire, Martini, and Barcadi, put together the session.

Attended by some of the city’s most hardworking bar tenders, it was instructed by Antoine Ghyselen, Brand Ambassador, Middle

East & Africa, TRADAL S.A (A member of the Barcadi Martini Group).

Drawn from the various hospitality centres in and around Accra including Duplex, Villa Monticello Hotel, Honeysuckle, Shisha

Lounge, and Cuzzy Bro’s among others, it saw the bar tenders sit through what was educative sessions over the two-day period.

They were taken through basic bar etiquettes and manners, inculcating in them international best practices.

They took turns to try out their hands on some of the new methods in mixing the various grades of alcohol.

Ghyselen, who was overly impressed implored the bar tenders to be professional in their handling of clients.

Customer service he said was the easiest way of winning over clients, adding once the service was good, they would always come back.

“There are so many Martinis being served everywhere but what makes the difference and you bar busier, is how you serve it.”
A good exercise it was, it forms part of the Group’s resolve to ensure it builds an appreciable level of professionalism in the end users of its products.

The company is hoping to replicate this in other regions.

Jude Okoye and Ifeoma Umeokeke

Fans of singer Peter Okoye have attacked the P-Square member for allegedly skipping out on his elder brother Jude Okoye‘s wedding.

It is being reported that Peter didn’t travel with friends and family to Nnewi, Anambra State, where the traditional ceremony was held on Thursday, July 17, 2014.

NET could not confirm Okoye’s location at the time of this report, but the singer posted pictures on his Instagram account that seem to show he was in Lagos State during the event.

“Shhhhhhhhh”, Peter Okoye wrote, posting a picture of himself in front of an unidentified hotel lobby. He then posted another photo, pictured in the Squareville mansion.

Fans have rained abuses on the singer, describing his actions as ‘ungrateful’ and ‘spiteful’.

It is believed that Peter Okoye’s absence is a response to Jude’s absence at his own wedding in October 2013.

“You are really acting out… He that forgives is the bravest…. IT SEEMS YOUR MUM WAS THE PILLAR OF PEACE AND UNITY IN YOUR FAMILY..Always remember the #goodtimes.. “people don’t remember How many times you helped them . They only remember one moment u never helped” He is your blood, remember.. #Always think before u act. ALWAYS PUT ANGER IN THE BOOT.@peterpsquare”, an Instagram user @sparklingola wrote.

Others felt Peter Okoye has done nothing wrong, as he is only paying his elder brother back in his own coin.

“good thing you said shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh to them, but they won’t listen if Nigerians should be worried, let them face and be more concern about our missing girls what if ur sisters were among? Now you here Killing urself over Jude’s marriage n family dude! These people don’t fucking know youuuuuuuuuu! Geeez man wake up to reality lol”, another Instagram user @nabbyluv wrote.

P-Square’s other half, Paul Okoye and his wife Anita were present at the wedding.

See photos from the traditional wedding below:

Source: thenet.ng

Funny huh? This is champion pugilist, Bukom Banku, real Braimah Kamoko, Ayittey Power’s ‘best friend’ in his school uniform. The picture was captured on a movie set.

He defeated Ayittey Powers in their much-anticipated Judgement Night non-title Cruiser weight bout at the Accra Sports Stadium with 117- 109, 119-100, 120-108.

What is wrong with this photo?

Watch some of videos of him below:

Theophilus Tagoe, popularly known as Castro D’Destroyer

TV3 Network reports that, the police officer suspected to have leaked a lead from Togo about Theophilus Tagoe, popularly known as Castro D’Destroyer, has been interdicted by the Ghana Police Service.

Corporal Zepherine Awunyo Dogbe was interdicted indefinitely last Wednesday, July 16, TV3 gathers, with her phone seized.

According to reports, she was interdicted on mere suspicion and no hearing has been called since then.

Corporal Dogbe is said to have flouted Service Act 350 (70) which states: “It is a misconduct for a police officer to divulge a confidential information to a person not authorized to receive it.”

“As she is suspected to have divulged a confidential information, a strictly internal communication material, she is interdicted,” said Head of the Service’s Public Affairs Directorate, DSP Cephas Arthur.

The action has infuriated human rights lawyers, who strongly believe the Service erred in interdicting Corporal Dogbe on mere suspicion.

“It is not enough to quickly or hurriedly interdict people on mere suspicion which cannot be substantiated,” said Francis Xavier Kojo Sosu, a human rights lawyer.

“It is important to take into account the right of the police officer to enjoy her service without any intimidation from the Service.”

According to Mr Sosu, this is not a matter of serious security breach as the information on the leaked document is reported false.

Castro was feared drowned on the Volta River on July 6 and after two weeks of search, hopes faded as to whether he will still be alive.

However, a wired message to the Service from its Togolese counterpart, noting that the hiplife artiste was in a hospital in Togo, went viral on social media.

Corporal Dogbe of the Police Information Room is suspected to have leaked the message.

Germany are the new football kings

After a month of thrills and shocks, the 2014 Fifa World Cup was wrapped up last Sunday, July 13.

The tournament proved an appetising mix of entertainment, excitement, tears and, above all, a symbol of unity as the beautiful game took center-stage while troubling issues of governance and economics worldwide were relegated to the background. For once in a long while, the world spoke one language: Football.

 WORLD CHAMPIONS | Germany are the new football kings

While the latest edition of the World Cup provided every fan with fun and a platform for the sport’s biggest names to prove a point, it was quite sad that some of these stars failed to propel their respective teams far enough. Nevertheless, we still enjoyed what Brazil 2014 had to offer.

In all, 32 countries were represented at the World Cup: hosts Brazil, another quintet from CONMEBOL, five and four from Africa and Asia respectively, 13 European sides, and four from North America.

Each country, as expected, presented its best players to prove their mettle at the global football fiesta. From the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger of Germany through the Messis and Neymars to Costa Rica’s Bryan Ruiz, all had something great to offer, and what a dazzling display of football they entertained us with!

The tournament could not have delighted us so without leaving behind surprises and eventualities set to go down in the annals of the game.

To begin with, teams like Colombia and Costa Rica proved surprise packages, making it to the Round of 16 and quarterfinals respectively, leaving in their wake giants like Uruguay, Italy, and England.

In the course of the group stages, two brothers (Kevin-Prince and Jerome Boateng) played for opposing teams on a second occasion on the world stage, with the former turning out for Ghana while his younger sibling represented Germany. Cameroon, of all the participants, were statistically worst, finishing with no points and a deficit of eight goals in Group A.

Still in the first round, defending champions Spain were thrashed 5-1 by the Netherlands while Germany also handed Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal a 4-0. On more surprises respecting scorelines, Greece beat the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire 2-1. Chile, who many might have considered as pushovers, held host nation Brazil to a pulsating 1-1 draw in the Round of 16, with the Selecao eventually winning 3-2 on penalties.

The showpiece also witnessed the highest tally of goals ever registered in the quarterfinals of any World Cup. Germany beat Brazil 7-1, thus adding up to the eventual total of 171 scored at this Mundial [compared to the 145 recorded at South Africa 2010].

Intriguingly, the victors in one shootout context were vanquished in the next: Costa Rica beat Greece and were subsequently defeated by the Dutch who, in turn, went on to lose to Argentina. In the larger picture, no team that won via penalties – namely, Brazil, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, and Argentina – triumphed on advancing to the next round.
The victorious Germans finished as overall top-scorers, with 18 goals.

New records, Deserved prizes

Brazil 2014 saw individual players set new records to make history. From Sami Khedira who got his first international strike for Germany to the likes of Ghanaian centre-back John Boye who scored own goals, this competition would forever remain memorable.

Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan broke Roger Milla’s African record of five World Cup goals. A sixth against Portugal took him clear atop the charts.

 LE-GYAN-DARY | Asamoah Gyan is an African legend now.

Miroslav Klose, the experienced Germany striker, surpassed retired Brazilian phenomenon Ronaldo as the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer, a 16th goal [and a 15th scored earlier] ensuring he can now quit his international career on a high.

Another German, Thomas Muller, came second in the scoring charts and also took home the Adidas Silver Ball for his overall performance at the World Cup.

James Rodriguez of Colombia, with six goals, received the prestigious Adidas Golden Boot, while his country won the FIFA Fair Play award.

On a personal level, Colombia’s second-choice goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon, with a late cameo in a group fixture against Japan, became the most aged player to represent any nation at the World Cup, overtook Cameroon legend Milla’s long-standing mark by at least a year. Mondragon, at 43, was the oldest player present in Brazil.

Perhaps most significantly, Germany became the first European team to claim the trophy on South American soil.

Interesting twists and turns

Ghana, who had beaten the USA 2-1 on two successive occasions at the World Cup, succumbed to the Stars and Stripes this time, and by the same scoreline. The irony therein is that, whenever the pair have clashed at the World Cup, the losing side has been under the guidance of an indigenous coach, with Ghana’s Kwesi Appiah joining Americans Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley in such uneasy company.

Plucky Algeria became the only African team ever to score more than three goals in a World Cup match, beating South Korea 4-2. Greece’s team also gave up the bonuses promised them by their government after they made progress to the knockout phase. The players rather asked that their bonuses be used to build a football training center in Greece to groom young talent. A generous gesture indeed!

Predictions

Observations on Brazil 2014 cannot be truly complete without commentary on the usual pre-tournament predictions regarding who the new world champions could be (especially after the death of the octopus Paul, ‘psychic’ genius of the last World Cup). South African illusionist Ilan Smith would thus be recalled as the man who correctly predicted the scoreline for the Germany-Argentina final, going further to name the goalscorer (substitute Mario Gotze) and the minute in which the goal would be scored (113th). Impressive, huh?

Sour issues

There were unpleasant developments as well, as the competition unraveled in all its glory, most of which could have been avoided had a little patience and decorum been exercised by those involved. Consider Ghana who made headlines globally for all the wrong reasons, with the West African nation’s government airlifting as much as $3.5 million to Brazil to settle the Black Stars’ appearance fees, but only after the players had threatened to boycott their decisive third group match with Portugal if the promised sum never arrived in time.

Prior to said game, Sulley Muntari and Kevin-Prince Boateng, two of Ghana’s key squad members, were sacked from camp over reports of insults and violence, a situation that has had various versions of what actually transpired related. Just when the world thought it had had enough of the bad publicity for Ghana, some Ghanaian fans, flown to Brazil to cheer the team, refused to return home and sought asylum on the obviously false pretext that they were escaping ‘religious conflict.’

Nigeria, Ghana’s regional neighbour, were in the news as well when its players refused to train over a cash row. Needless to say, the Nigerians did a better job of handling their issues than did Ghana. There was also Cameroonian midfielder Alex Song who elbowed Croatian Mario Mandzukic and duly got sent off in the course of a 4-0 defeat. After Song’s exit, left-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto headbutted, and then got into a fight on the pitch, with teammate Benjamin Moukandjo.

Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez completed an infamous hat-trick of bites when he dug his teeth into Italian Giorgio Chiellini’s shoulder in the heat of a group stage encounter. Fifa sanctioned Suarez, who has since completed a mega move from Liverpool to FC Barcelona, with a four-month suspension from all football activities in addition to a nine-game international ban, a decision some – including the ‘victim’ himself – have described as harsh.

 END OF THE ROAD | Suarez bite more than he could chew this time

Continuing on a distasteful note, Brazil lost star player Neymar to serious vertebrae damage inflicted by Colombia’s Juan Camilo Zuniga in the quarter-finals. The injury ruled the 22-year-old out of Brazil’s ultimately ill-fated date with Germany in the last four.

Tragedy struck in the Ivorian camp, too, as brothers Yaya and Kolo Toure received heart-rending news that their brother Ibrahim had been lost to cancer.

Some lessons

Brazil 2014 did bring many lessons to the fore. For starters, patriotism and national pride were core values for many of the contesting sides. We also learnt that football is no longer just about the big names and that there are no true underdogs anymore.

That aside, qualities like unity, determination, dedication, commitment, discipline, and zero tolerance for complacency all proved outstanding, and arguably none portrayed these quite like triumphant Germany did.

While other sides built their play and plans around the perceived individual stars they boasted, Germany considered themselves largely a team of equals and got rewarded for it.
A veritable testimony to teamwork, wouldn’t you say?

By Esther Eyra Doe

The Cahaya Car Spa in the East Legon is to host the much anticipated event, the “Celebrity Car Wash” come Sunday, 20th of July, 2014. This event, under the theme “Eradicating Hepatitis B”, intends to bring together Celebrities including Okyeame Kwame, Abeiku Santana, Nana Aba Anamoah, KOD, Naa Ashorkor, Raquel, Richie, MzVee, Stone and others to wash people’s cars for them and raise funds to support the Hepatitis B project.

Okyeame Kwame revealed his foundation’s intention to include free vaccination of 1000 Ghanaians to the annual free Hepatitis B screening this year. But also considering that the cost of the vaccines are very expensive, Okyeame Kwame explains that “eachvaccine costs forty Ghana cedis even aside administration of the vaccines, the ordinary Ghanaian may not be able to afford this, and providing 1000 people with free vaccination has indeed raised the cost of the entire project for us. So we are organizing the Celebrity Car Wash so that we can raise money to buy the vaccines”, says Okyeame.

The Celebrity Car Wash comes with it various activities including playing of video games, pool, table tennis, celebrity autograph signing, photo shoots with the celebrities, and cocktail party among others. The event starts at 8 am and ends at 6 pm at the premises of the Cahaya Car Spa, opposite former president Rawlings’ house in East Legon. MC will be Kafui Dey. Come and watch your favourite celebrity.

The Okyeame Kwame Fights Against Hepatitis B is supported by MDS Lancet Laboratories, MTN Ghana Foundation, Firm Bridges Communications, Verna Water, Wear Ghana, and Japan Motors. Media Partners include DDP, Viasat 1, GH ONE, Citi fm, Radio Gold, Live fm, Y fm, Daily Guide, Flex Newspaper, Spectator, Ghanagist, Ghanaweb, and Enewsgh.

Dolores Aveiro (left) tried to abort Cristiano Ronaldo (Picture: REUTERS)

The mother of Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted that she drank alcohol and ran until she ‘dropped’ in an attempt to abort him while she was pregnant.

Dolores Aveiro revealed the story in a biography called Mother Courage, which was released in Portugal today.

In the book, Mrs Aveiro admitted that she tried to abort Ronaldo – who is the youngest of four children – by drinking warm beer and running ’till she dropped’ following the refusal of doctors to carry out the procedure.

She said: ‘I wanted to abort but the doctor didn’t support my decision.’

Mrs Aveiro – whose husband Dinis died from alcohol-related liver damage in 2005 – revealed that Ronaldo knew the story about her difficult pregnancy but had made jokes about the incident.

She said: ‘He told me when he found out, “Look mum, you wanted to abort and now I’m the one who’s pulling the purse-strings in the house.”

Mrs Aveiro also addressed Ronaldo’s son, Cristiano Jr, in the biography and said that she had picked up the child – whose mother’s identity remains a secret – from a Florida clinic four years ago while her son played in the World Cup in South Africa.

She said Ronaldo had told her he was ‘going to have a child’ and wanted his mother to educate and love the boy.

Source: Mirror.co.uk

The much awaited biggest Africa gathering in America dubbed “Africa Gospel Goes Classic” with the gospel general, Sonnie Badu has been postponed. The live recording of his new album “Hymns and Spiritual Songs” has been rescheduled for November 1 according to his management Smartty’s Management & Productions.

In a release from his management, headed by Mrs Selassie Ibrahim she explained that “due to an unexpected event beyond our control, Smartty’s Management & Production regret to announce the postponement of the live classical recording with Sonnie Badu from August 2, the scheduled date to November 1, 2014”.

The release further explained “we are sorry for any inconvenience caused his fans and patrons who purchased tickets ahead of the event. All tickets for the previously announced August date will be honored for the new date without the need to exchange”.

The live classical recording concert would be Sonnie Badu’s fourth album with a classical twist. The live recording album is said to feature three American Gospel artistes;Jonathan Nelson, Darwin Hobbs and Dee Jones. The album would be recorded by award winning sound engineer Danny Dunkin, who is the sound engineer behind Israel Houghton, Cece Winnans and Marvin Sapp. Amanda would be the one on visuals.

On Saturday, November 1, over 4000 believers will gather in Maryland at the New Psalmist Baptist Church-6020 Marion Dr. Baltimore MD 21215 for a historic Live Recording Concert by Strings for Christ Orchestra.

This historic concert promises to be the best from General Sonnie Badu. For more enquiries and any information, please visit http://www.sonniebadu.com/for further details and registration or questions can be directed to info@sonniebadu.com.

In these days of advanced internet usage, one’s ability to easily access information about acelebrity via the click of a button can be a stamp for their level of stardom and popularity.

This trend has transcended the rules of credibility of information sources so much that, it is no more as important the source of information as it is the piece of information acquired.

Info sources such as Wikipedia have through this trend won the accolade of the free encyclopedia for anything important and popular. So just as it is now said that if Google can’t find it then it doesn’t exist, same could go for celebrities-if they are not on Wikipedia then they aren’t popular.

Fortunately, several Ghanaian artistes have been featured on the world’s popularly known online encyclopedia. Though what is in their profile might only be studs, the most important thing is that they are there. Others on the other hand have a fully featured and updated profile. They must feel very proud sharing the same webpage with the world’s VVIPs. Here are three of such celebrities.  We will bring you more later.

Sarkodie: He is featured on Wikipedia as one of the major proponents of the Azonto genre and dance. According to the page, the “ObidiPonBidi” is a Ghanaian hip hop and hiplife recording artiste from Tema, who was nominated for the 2014 BET Award after winning the Best International Act: Africa category at the 2012 BET Awards. Like it’s done for the international artiste, the page features a list of Sarkodie’s discography, awards and nominations.

Sarkodie

Sheriffa Gunu: is recorded as a princess, born into a royal family of the Kingdom of Dagbon, in the Northern Region of Ghana. Sheriffa is recognized as a National Dance Champion and associated with Terry Bonchaka and King Ayisoba, who were also participants in the 2003 Hiplife dance championship competition. Sheriffa is also recorded as having done backings for artistes like Kojo Antwi, Amakye Dede, Daddy Lumba, Nana Acheampong, Sarkodie and a personal record of her as a Muslim married to a Christian, a Nigerian business man called Ikechuku Sunday, whom she has a daughter with.

Samini: Except for his photo that is missing on the page, Wikipedia provides information on the star from his birthday to his awards and nomination. The missing thing is his personal life, which is same for most other Ghanaian celebs featured there. But Batman Samini is recorded as having performed alongside Sean Paul, Akon, Shaggy, Bennie Man, Jay-Z, Chaka Demus& Pliers, Culture (of Blessed Memory) Steel Pulse and a host of other Dancehall artiste. Hmm… isn’t he truly the African Dancehall Artiste…Emmanuel Andrews Samini.

Samini

Efya: But for Wikipedia many wouldn’t have known the actual name of Miss Awindor whose full name is recorded as Jane Fara Fauzzier Afia Boafowaa Yahaya Awindor. Little needs to be said about Efya, just Google her and see for yourself. She seems to be the only Ghanaian artiste with a well detailed and updated profile on Wikipedia, maybe because she allowed it. Kudos Efya you truly are a star.

Efya

But no matter what Wikipedia says about our stars, Ghanaians will always know their stars best.

By Martha TeikoDaitey

“He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.” - Proverbs 18:22.

Black Stars and Parma FC midfielder Ebenezer Afriyie Acquah, simply known as Afriyie Acquah tied the nuptial knot with his girlfriend Amanda in Accra on Saturday.

His agent Oliver Arthur, football administrator and mentor Ralph Gyambrah, Major Kwame Baah, the man who scouted him first graced the ceremony.

Acquah made his senior Ghana debut against Chile on February 29, 2012.

Samini jumps on Apple Vodka Riddim with Vibe Bi.

Check it out!!!

By GhanaGist.Com

Hiplife trio, 4×4 drops their first single in 2014. The song titled Baby Dance features 2014 BET Awards Best African Act, Davido and produced by Coublion.

The video of the song was shot and directed by Nigerian multiple award winning director, Clarence Peters.

Check the song out!!!

4×4 and Davido

Ghanaian music group, 4×4 has finally released its latest banger, ‘Baby Dance’ featuring the recently crowned BET Award Best African act, Davido.

Combining the eclectic styles of group members Fresh Prince, Captain Planet and Coded with the Davido, the single is a pulsating club banger that should have people dancing across Africa and the globe in the coming days.

The release comes with a hot video shot on location in Lagos by the award-winning director, Clarence Peters.

‘Baby Dance’, the first single from their upcoming album, introduces a new sound from 4×4, produced by Nigerian beat maker, DJ Coublon as they go through the next chapter of the career under a new record label, Don Jeff.

Listen to the song

Enjoy the video

Very interesting and funny twist! Germany won the World Cup 2014 in Brazil by beating Argentina 1-0. GhanaSoccerNet reports that, according to Mallam Sham-Una, Germany’s triumph at the just ended World Cup tournament in Brazil was not by coincidence.

Read below his explanation:

“The spelling of Germany begins with the letter G which represents 7 in figures. The number of the letter that forms Germany is 7.

Germany was in Group ‘G’ which represents 7 in figures. Germany played 7 matches in the tournament: group stages – 3, round 16 – 1, quarter finals – 1, semi finals – 1.

The final match was played in July which is the 7th month of the year.

The final goal scored by Germany 7 minutes before the end of the game.

At the group stages Germany scored 7 goals to qualified from the 7th group: Germany vrs Portugal 4-0, Germany vrs Ghana 2-2, Germany vs USA 1-0 (4+2+1=7).

Germany scored 7 goals against Brazil to qualified from the semi finals to final.

Again, countries ending with the letter (L) happens to be an easy side for Germany, example, Germany vs Portugal 4-0, Germany vs Brazil 7-1. On the other hand, teams ending with the letter (A) proved quite tough for Germany, example, Germany vs Ghana 2-2, Germany vs USA 1-0, Germany vs Algeria 2-1.

The final goal for Germany was scored by Gotze.

Indeed his name Gotze, begins with the letter G which is 7 in figures.

These and other things in my calculation is what shot Germany to the top.”

Oseikrom, get ready for this one!

Kumasi is set to come alive this week as the Close-Up Freshness Dance Revolution – Salsa Fiesta Season 4 hits the Kumasi Jubilee Park with the Biggest Open Air Dance Party.

Having ran for the past 3 years, this year’s edition sees the New Close-Up Freshness Dance Revolution – Salsa Fiesta Season 4 going to 3 major cities, Takoradi, Kumasi and Accra, with the excitement of the new Salsa fusion dance.

Hopeful contestants are to learn the moves and compete to represent their cities at the Grand Finale in Accra where there is a whopping total of GHC30,000 to be won.

Last week the train made its first stop at Takoradi, where the city was thrilled with the new Salsa fusion moves, a mix of Salsa and local dances such as Azonto, Alkayida and many more, in an exciting street storm and club visits where the best dancers of the night were selected to represent Takoradi at the Grand finale to be held in Accra.

This weekend it will be the turn of Kumasi to turn up in their numbers at the Jubilee Park from 7pm, to show us how much of the Salsa fusion dances they have learnt.

The night will be a BIG Open Air Dance Party unlike any seen in Kumasi before and will be headlined by VGMA, BET and MTV Awards winner Sarkodie with strong support from Oseikrom’s movers and shakers Eno, Cabum and Shatto Rako. It promises to be a night of fun not to be missed and is open to all.

From Thursday, the Close up Salsa Fusion Squad will storm town to perform and teach people the hot new salsa fusion dance, the highlight of this year’s competition.

If you love to try new dance moves then visit www.facebook.com/closeupghana and learn the Close up Salsa fusion moves, and join the Dance competition on Saturday.

With a whopping Ghc30,000 up for grabs, the Close up Freshness Dance Revolution – Salsa Fiesta 4 promises to be an action packed night.All the excitement of the Close-up Freshness Dance Revolution – Salsa fiesta Season 4 is captured in an exciting TV series currently running on Viasat 1 on Fridays at 8pm and GH One Entertainment TV on Sundays at 5:30pm.

Social media

Kindly follow Close-Up Ghana on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook.

Watch the videos below:

Castro: Time to say goodbye to him?

It is very sad that a serious issue such as the alleged drowning of hiplife artiste, Castro, and his female companion, Janet Bandu at Ada during a Jet Ski accident on Sunday, July 6, has in some cases been reduced to mere mockery.

Even if we refuse to see the seriousness of the issue at hand and rather choose to create trashy jokes out of it for undeserved humour and laughter, we must not forget that so far as people go to such places, water accidents will always remain a challenge to deal with.

Two weeks after the accident, perhaps, it is understandable that the intensive search for the two missing persons have been brought to an end but finding a lasting solution to such tragic accidents would go far in helping the country, especially the operators and guests of such resorts.

In other countries, a more serious and pragmatic approach would have begun to find a solution to the problem but in Ghana, no, instead, we are joking with the situation with speculations, tales, and spiritual innuendos and forthright lies. And the sad part is that, many think the twists given to the accident are funny.

Every day, a different story comes out and I wonder how many more we are to expect. I will advise that we adopt the “You and I were not there” approach and not rely on all the funny stories being churned out on a daily basis. The stories and the theories don’t even tally.

Castro’s situation had become a subject for mockery for self-styled mallams, prophets and traditional priests who are cashing in on this unfortunate story.

A lot has already been said and in all indications, a lot more would be said as Castro has not been found yet and nothing shows that he would be found dead or alive anytime soon.

Social media is the trending source of information as it has taken over traditional media such as newspapers, television and radio. The way news of Castro’s disappearance has been disseminated confirms this.

On that fateful day, Sunday, July 6, 2014, I got to know of this sad news on social media after I had received lots of calls, SMS and WhatsApp messages from friends who had wanted me to confirm the sad news they had also heard from other sources.

Initially, I treated the news as trivial until I logged onto other social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter, and was bombarded with tributes upon tributes to the alleged departed soul of Castro who had been a dear friend to a lot of music enthusiasts.

I shed a tear for Castro. I do so not only because I have followed his music career closely, but also because I have personally experienced near-drowning before and I’m aware how painful it is to lose someone close to you.

Last week, when hopes of finding the missing Castro and Janet Bandu appeared to have faded, award winning music producer, Hammer of the Last Two, posted on his Facebook wall something that attracted my attention and got me thinking.

Hammer posted these words on his page: “Forgive me but I’m pretty sure it’s time to pronounce Castro dead officially, so some of us can pay our respects accordingly. Speculations have robbed him of the appropriate courtesy paid to the departed… And failure to do this might further disrespect his memory. There’s no conspiracy or superstition to this so the denial needs to end”.

An obviously not so enthused Hammer continued: “Castro suffered a fatal accident and is not with us anymore. All these agents of dark forces should cut the crap about Maame Water and shouldn’t be encouraged with an audience at all cos Castro was a God fearing man. Let’s do what needs to be done. Just saying #RestinpeaceCastro.”

Like I said, the above words got me and several others thinking deeply about the whole situation. Shouldn’t Castro be pronounced dead, so people can offer their last respects to him and let the sleeping dog lie comfortably like Hammer is suggesting?

However, the other question that begs for an answer is whether Castro can be declared dead even when his body has not been found yet? If not, for how long are we prepared to wait?

I’m not in any way pronouncing Castro dead or advocating for him to be pronounced dead but can one live under water for two weeks and still stay alive? Or is somebody playing a prank on Ghanaians?

By Ebenezer Anangfio / Graphic Showbiz

Castro performing at Ghana Music Awards 2014 

By GhanaGist.Com

As part of his annual Hepatitis B free screening with this year’s edition slated for July 28, 2014 at Mantse Agbonaa in Accra, the Okyeame Kwame Foundation under the tutelage of Okyeame Kwame organised a mini event ‘Celebrity Car Wash’ on July 20, 2014 at the Cahaya Car Spa in East Legon.

The event which was under the theme “Eradicating Hepatitis B” saw several celebrities wash cars of people and raise funds to support his Hepatitis B project.

Celebrities that turned up for the event included Kwame Sefa Kayi, Naa Ashorkor, Raquel, MzVee, Flowking Stone, Nikki Samonas, Bola Ray, Kafui Dey, Choirmaster, Beverly Afaglo and Jessica Saforo Opare of Citi FM.

Others were Adjetey Anang, Sammy B, Delay, Ama K. Abebrese, Stephen Appiah, Van Vicker, Caroline Sampson, Elikem Kumordzie, George Armah Quaye, host of The Pundits on GhOne TV and others.

Okyeame Kwame revealed his foundation’s intention to include free vaccination of 1000 Ghanaians to the annual free Hepatitis B screening this year. But also considering that the cost of the vaccines are very expensive, Okyeame Kwame explains that “eachvaccine costs forty Ghana cedis even aside administration of the vaccines, the ordinary Ghanaian may not be able to afford this, and providing 1000 people with free vaccination has indeed raised the cost of the entire project for us. So we are organizing the Celebrity Car Wash so that we can raise money to buy the vaccines”, says Okyeame.

The Okyeame Kwame Fights Against Hepatitis B is supported by MDS Lancet Laboratories, MTN Ghana Foundation, Firm Bridges Communications, Verna Water, Wear Ghana, and Japan Motors. Media Partners include DDP, Viasat 1, GH ONE, Citi fm, Radio Gold, Live FM, Y fm, Daily Guide, Flex Newspaper, Spectator, Ghanagist, Ghanaweb, and Enewsgh.

Check out pictures from the event.

The second edition of the annual 30Minitzlive Sallah Carnival comes off on Sallah day, July 28th at New Fadama school junction near the residence of the National Chief Imam.

30minitzlive Sallah Carnival was launched last year in what turned out to be the biggest Sallah celebrations gathering in the capital.

The event saw performances from Shatta Wale, Gazmilla, Guru, Dobble, Chemphe, Natural face, Dflex, Iwan and host of other artistes as well as a colourful parade of chiefs and leaders of the various tribes in the ZONGO communities in Accra.

This year’s event according to organizers will be bigger than the past year as they intend to line up almost all the chart topping artistes this year. A new addition to this year’s event is the SALLAH BBQ which precedes the main event and happens immediately after Eid prayers.

“The SALLAH BBQ affords us the opportunity to invite some celebrities and members of the press to enjoy the Sallah feast with us, as we serve them the special Sallah “Shinkafa” rice, stew & meat and Grace Mighty Malt products” a rep of 30minitzlive commented.

30minitzlive Sallah Carnival is powered by 30minitzlive the number one music TV show with a consistent ratings of 25% on Viasat1 and sponsored by Grace Mighty Malt. Media partners of the event include Viasat1, UTV, OKAYFM, MARHABA FM, YFM, 4Syte TV & GhOne.

The carnival event starts at 3pm on Sallah Day.

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