Okyeame Kwame, the Ghanaian Hiplife legend, recently explained why he declined an offer to join the Manifesto Committee on Creative Arts for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer.
The committee was created to draft manifesto policies for the creative arts sector, with Okyeame Kwame and actor Prince David Osei among its members. However, due to his contractual obligations, he declined the position, saying he would only provide ideas.
“I recalled the contracts I had signed with different organizations that required me to remain ‘apolitical’ or ‘neutral’. Therefore, when someone approached me to join their team, I informed them that I could only suggest ideas but could not officially join the team due to my contractual obligations. I reiterated this twice, but the person did not respond.”
He wrote a letter of explanation outlining his nonpartisan terms after his name was included on the list of chosen individuals even though he refused to become an official member.
“A few days later, my name appeared on the roster of those chosen to serve on the creative arts manifesto committee for Bawumia.
To clarify that he had not consented to participate in this on his terms as a nonpartisan participant, he had to compose a letter.
Okyeame Kwame attributed a challenging situation to the unstable political environment in Ghana. He compared it with that of the United States, where artists could openly endorse a political party, which was not the case in Ghana. He questioned whether Ghana’s democracy allowed for such actions.
Okyeame Kwame explained that in the US, artists could openly support a political party and still receive support from the public. However, in Ghana, the situation was different. If you supported a political party, it was difficult to move on normally. There was no such thing as political neutrality in Ghana, he said.
