US-based Ghanaian media personality and philanthropist, Naana Donkor Arthur, has for the first time shared her emotional reaction to the passing of Highlife legend Daddy Lumba, who died a few weeks ago following complications from a prolonged spinal injury.

Speaking in a candid podcast, Naana revealed how someone had recently reached out to ask how she felt about the news.

“Honestly, I am still in denial,” she admitted. “I just can’t believe Lumba is gone. I’ve been at a loss for words even in the weeks leading up to his passing.”

She added that the reality would only truly sink in if she saw him lying in a coffin, being taken to the cemetery.

Naana explained that she wanted to speak directly to the family, simply to confirm once more that he was indeed gone.

“It’s hard to accept that someone who gave us so much joy with his music is no longer here,” she said, describing the experience as a whirlwind of emotions — at times rejecting the truth of his death, while at other moments feeling the heavy weight of reality.

She also recalled the death hoaxes surrounding Daddy Lumba in 2020, when rumours of his demise circulated widely online.

“I received countless calls from fans urging me to go live and confirm the news. I reached out to his management, and thankfully, he was alive. So when I first heard about his passing this time, I dismissed it immediately,” she recounted.

Daddy Lumba, born Charles Kwadwo Fosu, passed away in the early hours of Saturday, 26 July 2025, at the Bank Hospital in Accra, where he had been receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness.

Sources close to the family confirmed that he had been admitted days prior and died at dawn.

By midday, a large number of fans and sympathisers had gathered at his East Legon residence in Accra, visibly shocked and mourning the loss of one of Ghana’s most celebrated Highlife icons.

The One Week observance of his passing will be held on Saturday, 30 August, in Accra at a yet-to-be-disclosed venue.