The year 2014 began on a sad note with the shocking death of former JoyFm host and BBC presenter, Komla Afeke Dumor.  The sad news of his passing was confirmed on the 18^th of January by his close friend, Herbert Mensah. Tributes poured in for Komla by his colleagues and fans from around the world and President Mahama announced his government would ensure Komla got a befitting burial.

After months of investigations by police into the murder of a 32-year-old Stanbic employee, A 25-year-old auto-electrician, Abraham Oyoko Baah confessed to the murder of Rosemond Nyampong. Rosemond was discovered in a pool of blood by family on November 21 after she failed to report to work that day. The gruesome murder dominated subjected residents of the Tema Metropolis where she was murdered to fear and panic. 

An Accra High Court heard a case involving three Guyanese nationals accused of importing cocaine into the country. Subsequently, the Court sentenced two persons including a Ghanaian, to a total of 35 years imprisonment for their roles in importing the cocaine into the country.

The Ministry of Health set up a committee to investigate the importation and distribution of about 130 million pieces of fake condoms in the country.

Controversy struck with the sale of Merchant Bank to private equity fund managers, FORTIZ. FORTIZ acquired Merchant Bank for about 90 million Ghana Cedis in return for 90 percent stake, was met by resistance from several civil society groups.  Scores of protesters marched through the streets of the Accra, Kumasi, Koforidua, and Takoradi to demonstrate against the sale.

 

February :

The month of February saw a Parliamentary inquiry into the Merchant Bank sale to Fortiz as MPs cut short their New Year break to investigate the deal. More than 80 MPs signed a motion to demand a parliamentary inquiry into the deal.

Unfortunately the parliamentary enquiry did not affect the take-off of the bank.

A toll booth belonging to the University of Ghana was torn down by operatives of the National Security Secretariat, after complaints of heavy traffic caused by the tolling.

Then head of National Security, Lt. Colonel Larry Gbevlo Lartey justified the demolition of the structure and insisted that the univeristy needs clearance.

University authorities strongly objected to the action taken by National Security. Public Relations Officer Stella Amoah described the move as discourteous.

The controversy over the University of Ghana roads tolling did not end there however. The school blocked its GIMPA entrance to vehicles which did not have its stickers, causing huge inconvenience to parents of pupils at the University Primary School.

In more Legon news, three ladies including students of the University of Ghana were forced to crawl on their hands and knees by security at the Accra Mall for allegedly stealing panties from the Mr. Price Store.

Family of late presenter, Komla Afeke Dumor received his mortal remains at the Kotoka International Airport in this month. The Bossman was laid to rest on the 22^nd of February Komla at the forecourt of the State House.

Professor Ernest Dumor, father of the late BBC presenter delivered a befitting tribute to his son.

Widow of Mr. Dumor, Kwansema in her tribute expressed the pride and love she and her children held for their departed husband and dad.

Violence broke out as hundreds of residents of the Tema suburb of Adjei Kojo were rendered homeless when the Tema Development Corporation, bulldozed their buildings. The TDC accused the people of encroachment but many residents insisted they legitimately acquired the land.

There were mounting complaints in February as businesses began to feel the brunt of the fall of the cedi. This forced the Bank of Ghana to introduce new measures in an attempt to arrest the fall of the local currency.

In an interesting twist to the saga of the freefalling cedi, National Women’s Organiser of the NDC, Anita Desoso made wild claims suggesting that dwarves were responsible for the fall of the cedi.

 

March:

In March, the falling cedi continued to captivate Ghanaians. Running mate of the NPP, Mahamadu Bawumiah delivered a much-anticipated lecture focused on the fall of the national currency. The talk was aired live on radio and television stations across the country.

In a sad development, the manager of hiplife artise Kwaw Kese, Fennec Otchere was stabbed in his Spintex home.

Hundreds of passengers were stranded at the Kotoka International Airport and other airports across the country as air traffic controllers embarked on strike action over their conditions of work.

After months of speculation over whether or not he would contest the flagbearer-ship of the NPP Nana Akufo-Addo when he announced his intention to grab the spot despite some calls for change in party leadership

Still in March, News of a strange skin disease affecting children in the Upper West Region went viral. Three children affected were given the moniker “alligator kids”. A philanthropist Michelle McGowan who was raising funds to assist the children was arrested by the police in Accra on suspicion of exploiting the children for personal benefit. This led to the Gender Ministry taking custody of the children.

 

April:

April brought us the sad SADA story. After months of investigation in the operations of the Savanna Accelerated Development Authority, SADA, Joy News uncovered alleged financial malfeasance of various degrees. Some of the officials were ordered to pay back money to the Authority.

Later, officials of SADA issued a rejoinder to the story claiming the report only highlighted details of a letter from the Auditor General to the Chief Executive of SADA which did not necessarily condemn SADA as corrupt.

But Joy News’ Manasseh Azure Awune also toured some tree planting projects by SADA and discovered many of the trees had withered because there was no water to keep them alive.

In response to the SADA controversy, President John Mahama nominated a group of prominent Ghanaians to the Board of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority, (SADA) in order to push the SADA agenda. The President had earlier in 2013 dismissed the Chief Executive of the SADA board, Gilbert Iddi following allegations of financial malfeasance against the authority.

Tragedy struck at the Tema Oil Refinery, (TOR) when an explosion destroyed a major pipeline of the refinery. TOR is said to have lost about 280,000 dollars as a result of the blast.

The NPP in April congregated in Tamale to elect their national executives to lead the party for the next 4 years with the hopes of bringing the party the much-needed Presidential election victory. Shockingly, its chairman Jake ObetsebiLamptey and General Secretary KodwoOwusuAfriyie also known as Sir John and others could not retain their seats.

Also in April, there was a major dismissal! President Mahama fired his National Security Coordinator, Col Larry GbevloLartey. We were not told the reason but some linked it to his involvement in the controversy surrounding the demolition of the University of Ghana’s security post which he ordered to be pulled down.

 

May:

Disaster struck on the 5 of May when four oil executives were killed in a helicopter crash in the Western Regional capital of Takoradi. The aircraft took off from the Takoradi Airport and was expected to arrive on a rig offshore in 15 minutes. It however crashed into the ocean, killing four of the occupants.

Yet again, the fall of the cedi was brought to the fore, this time with the Senchi Consensus. Following the failure of measures introduced earlier in the year to arrest the fall of the national currency, government secluded itself for three days in the Eastern Region and reached a 22-point resolution.

President Mahama, was certain the Senchi Consensus offers the solutions to the country’s economic woes.

But just whilst the economists and academics tried to find a cure for Ghana’s economic troubles, two boxers decided to ease the tension and perhaps soothe the pain inflicted by the currency issues. Bukom Banku and Ayittey Powers were meant to fight on May 16 in a bout that was preceded by enormous drama.

For instance, even ahead of the clash, BukomBanku stormed the studio’s Asempa FM over comments on the station that he did not meet the required weight for the bout.

Social media went wild when a man claiming to be a computer scientist succeeded in duping media practitioners at Ghana Television. Fauster Atta Mensah (ridiculed on Social media as "Fraudster Atta Mensah") claimed to work with the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and provided producers of the late Momen Tonight Show with shoddily photoshopped images.

 

June:

The World Cup month was a period of high expectations and dashed dreams as Ghana made its third World Cup appearance at Brazil 2014.       

A controversial Black Stars campaign in Brazil began with a draw in the Brazilian capital Rio de Janeiro. Various media outlets around the world described Ghana’s Group G as the group of death featuring Germany, Portugal and the USA. Former Sports Minister Elvis Afriyie Ankrah spoke about the high hopes.

This was how it all unfolded. Ghana flew its players and a number of celebrities described as “ambassadors” to Brazil. These icons including film actor John Dumelo and former Black Stars Captain Stephen Appiah were expected to boost morale in camp.

Meanwhile there were reports of player mutiny in the Black Stars camp over government’s failure to pay the boys their deserved appearance fees.  Black Stars captain Asamoah Gyan strongly denied this.

Captain Gyan’s denial did not stand however when two players Sulley Muntari and Kevin Prince Boateng were sacked for disrespecting coach Kwasi Appiah. 

This was after government had airlifted 3 million dollars to the players in Brazil in a move that generated international headlines and embarrassed the Nation. Each of the players got 100 thousand dollars. But their ploy of holding the nation hostage seemingly backfired on them when it turned out each of them had to lose 17 thousand dollars in taxes to the Brazilian government.

To add more salt to injury, the Stars failed to move beyond the group stages of the tournament and returned home in disgrace.

Government continued to tackle the falling cedi in June. After months of complaints and frustration by businesses, the Bank of Ghana finally revised some of the forex measures it introduced earlier in February to check the cedi’s free fall. It was thought these measures did little to stop the fall of the currency.  

  
July:

July 1 is Ghana's Republic Day and the day was marked by the famous Occupy Flagstaff demonstration. Occupy Flagstaff was a demonstration organised by non-partisan movement Occupy Ghana to push government to solve corruption, infrastructure decay, worsening economy, among others in the country.

Later in the month, the TUC staged a mammoth demonstration to protest harsh economic conditions. While the likes of AFAG and CPP supported it, some experts did not.

Hannah Tetteh, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, scoffed the turned on her twitter page. Organisers were unperturbed.

July was a month of shockers, beginning with news breaking out about the suspected drowning of hiplife artise Theophilus Tagoe, popularly called Castro. The hiplife star went missing with a friend, Janet Bandu, at a resort in Ada where they had gone jet skiing. Rescue efforts to find the two have been fruitless.

Meanwhile, a surprising number of sex tapes emerged during the year. One of them was the viral video of the son of Foreign Affairs Minister Hannah Tetteh and the daughter of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana.

Former NPP Member of Parliament for Nkoranza North, Eric Amoateng,  was also released in July after serving a seven-year jail term in the United States for trafficking narcotics. 

Another leak revealed sex tapes and photos featuring several women in the Tamale metropolis. At least thirty women working with reputable organizations in the Northern region were seen in the footages and pictures having sex with the same man, a Tamale-born but Canada-based man called Khamil Abu Wemah.

Once again, the cedi continued to fall freely in July. This time, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana issued a warning to speculators.

 

August:

The single biggest story of the month of August was the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The disease began claiming lies in the sub-region earlier in the year but by August about five thousand people had been killed. The entire country apparently was panic-stricken following reports of how deadly the virus was.

Churches were advised to take measures to prevent physical contact with infected people and there were concerns that Ghana was not adequately prepared to handle a possible outbreak.

 

September:

Several attempts to locate the body, dead or alive, of Castro proved unsuccessful. The police held a lengthy press conference to dispell raging rumours over the hiplife musician's disappearance.

Meanwhile, rumours abound of sightings around the country and even in neighbouring nations. 

Close friend of Castro and Black Stars skipper Asamoah Gyan also came out to dispel rumours he had a hand in the hiplife artiste's disappearance.

 

October:

Prior to October and for most of the year, demonstrations had become the order of the day. Many labour unions and groups embarked on demonstrations over salaries and other conditions of service.

But former National Security Advisor, Brigadier-General Joseph Nunoo-Mensah (Rtd.), did not take kindly to that, strongly condemning the increasing number of industrial actions on the country’s labour front when they have seen salary increases under the single spine pay policy.

The month witnessed a scandal of “gargantuan proportions” when the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) arrested head of the National Service Scheme Alhaji Imoro Alhassan in connection with a 86.9 million Ghana cedi fraud there.

Some directors of the Scheme were also apprehended for paying in allowances to tune of the above-mentioned amount, to 22,612 non-existent service persons across the country.

Alhaji Alhassan was arrested for bribing BNI officials who were investigating the matter.

November:

November began with more controversy when the Chamber of Parliament was refurbished to reduce congestion in the House. Brows were raised when it was revealed that US$ 16 million had been spent on the refurbishment of the chamber, with local craftsmen bemoaning the fact that the chairs were imported from China when they could have obtained here in Ghana.

After months of dumsor in the country and ensuing complaints, President Mahama sacked the ECG boss, Rev. Ing. Hutton Mensah, replacing him with Mr. Robert Dwamena, the Director of Procurement at the company. Suggestions were made that the former MD was being hung out to dry to appease Ghanaians who have been increasingly outraged by the incessant power rationing ongoing in the country.

Staff of ECG did not take the dismissal lightly, with scores of workers protesting the President's decision and calling for its reversal. 

Controversial hiplife artiste, Kwaw Kesse was arrested in Kumasi for allegedly smoking weed. The man popularly known as Abodam was picked up by Kumasi police on patrol outside popular spot "Plus Two". Several attempts made by his lawyers to secure bail for the embattled celebrity proved unsuccessful.

Fans of ‘Itz Tiffany’ were stunned when news of a sex tape featuring the “Fake London Boi” rapper surfaced in November. An emotional Tiffany admitted on “Rhythms A-Z” that she was indeed featured on some of the tapes and accused her former "husband" of leaking the tapes to spite her.

Itz Tiffany's estranged "husband" acknowledged that he indeed filmed the videos but denied the allegations that he leaked the tape. 

If news of China chairs, sex tapes and celebrity arrests raised brows, the arrest of a Ghanaian lady in the United Kingdom for possession of 12.5 kilogrammes of cocaine bowled the nation over.

Nayele Ametefe, alias Ruby Adu-Gyamfi was arrested at London’s Heathrow airport with the illegal substance. Initial reports indicated that she was in possession of a diplomatic passport. This was refuted by Government.

Investigations revealed that Nayele Ametefe and two suspected female accomplices used the VIP lounge of the Kotoka International Airport at the behest of a businessman, Alhaji Daud.

Soon after the arrest, the Narcotics Control Board, NACOB’s governing board was dissolved by President Mahama. This followed debunked claims by NACOB that it had collaborated with UK authorities in arresting the suspected cocaine baroness.

Former NACOB Chair, Captain (Rtd) Baffour Assasie-Gyimah, accused Government of sacrificing the board in order to appease an angry and besieged god. Government however denied allegations that the dissolution was in response to botched handling of the cocaine scandal.

In the ensuing drama of the cocaine scandal, UK Commissioner Jon Benjamin took the opportunity afforded him by Imani Ghana at its 10th Anniversary celebration to make his stand on integrity in public office. In his address, Mr. Benjamin put to rest rumours that Nayele Ametefe had been travelling with a diplomatic passport. 

Journalists were not exempt from his lambasting, however, with the Commissioner asserting that there would definitely be "No Soli" for media practitioners from the UK High Commission. 

 

December:

During what should have been the happiest month of the year, convicted EXOPA CEO, Ibrahim Sima died while in prison custody. The former model was serving a 15-year jail sentence for attempting to smuggle narcotics hidden in tubers of yam.

Following his death, his son accused hospital administration at the Police Hospital of negligence, after prison authorities rushed his father in for medical assistance.

Tragedy struck when a manager of the Abrepo branch of Ecobank, Richard Sallah, was shot and killed in his home by suspected armed robbers. Ashanti Regional Police, led by DCOP Kofi Boakye, announced that they would not rest until the perpetrators had been brought to book.

To prove the determination of the police service, the man affectionately known as “Commander One” announced a bounty on the heads of the suspects.

Investigations resulted in the arrest of Samuel Kwame Boadi, alias Baffa, who alleged that the slain manager had attempted to unmask the leader of their gang during the robbery.

Former AIDS ambassador, Joyce Dzidzor Mensah shocked the nation when she “confessed” to local media that she is not HIV positive after all.

She claimed that she took on the role of an HIV positive woman after stigmatisation by friends and family after she was suspected of being HIV positive and insisted that she lied about her status in order to help persons who are truly living with HIV/AIDS.

Controversy struck once more when NPP flagbearer Nana Akufo-Addo, at the second inaugural Aliu Mahama Memorial Lecture, criticized President Mahama over the Kasoa Interchange project. Nana Akufo Addo said the cost of the project, among other things, fed perception of corruption in government.

Majority in Parliament in return questioned Nana Akuffo Addo’s basis for asking President Mahama to take a second look at the Kasoa Interchange project.

Meanwhile Kumasi was gripped with NDC fever as thousands of NDC delegates stormed the garden city for the party’s much-anticipated delegates’ congress to elect its party executives.

After months of back and forth, Incumbent Chair Dr. Kwabena Adjei suffered a massive defeat from his deputy, Kofi Portuphy. In like manner, incumbent National Organiser, Yaw Boateng Gyan lost to Rawlings loyalist, Kofi Adams.

One man stole the show that day however. CPP General Secretary Ivory Greenstreet delivered a historically harsh solidarity speech in which he slammed the Mahama-led government.

That speech ruffled a lot of feathers in the NDC with bigwigs in the party including the president criticizing Mr Greenstreet. The President, despite his insistence that he would not respond to Mr. Greenstreet, could not resist a quick barb in which he accused the CPP general secretary of suffering from incurable selective myopia.

However, the comment that generated the most controversy was that of a communicator of the party, Sam George, who suggested that Mr. Greenstreet; a wheel-chair-bound disabled man, perhaps needed “elevation”, to be able to see the NDC’s Better Ghana. Mr George later offered a half-hearted apology for his comment after furor erupted on social and mass media.

Just when the year was ending, came shocking news of ace broadcaster Kwasi Kyei Darkwa, (KKD)’s arrest over the alleged rape of a 19-year-old woman in a bathroom at the Africa Regent Hotel here in Accra.

KKD was refused bail yesterday by a magistrate court in Accra over the matter. His lawyer Nana Asante Bediatuo said he was disappointed at the turn of events. He is expected back in court on the 8th of January.

In brighter news, embattled hiplife star, Kwaw Kese was finally granted bail yesterday by a Kumasi Magistrate court on health grounds after several attempts to secure his release, and medical emergencies which landed him on admission twice at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.