Funerals of movie stars that shook Ghanaians and the Diaspora

Every soul shall taste death as the good books say, however, not everyone shall have a pomp funeral. There are several definitions of pomp, for some, it is the number of people present; while for others, it is the display of wealth and the gifts that are served.

Ghana has witnessed many funerals of prominent people in all career fields and the movie sector is no exception. Some deaths of Ghanaian movie stars gripped the nation and thousands, if not more, attended their grandiose funeral.

From the period before social media and currently, GhanaWeb documents a number of funerals of movie stars that left a lasting memory on the minds of Ghanaians.

Bob Santo

Pre-social media superstar actor and comedian, John Evans Kwadwo Bosompem (Bob Santo), died on May 30, 2002, at West End Hospital, Kumasi, after he fell ill in Europe. Because of absence of health care coverage to cover him in Holland, he was brought back to Ghana to be taken care of.

Bob Santo, who died at age 62, was buried at his hometown, Akyem Awisa in the Eastern Region after a huge funeral. His body was made to stand in state at the Centre for National Culture (Accra Arts Centre) on Friday, July 26, 2002, and was conveyed to Awisa early Saturday morning where funeral rites were held at the Awisa Methodist School grounds.

The Arts Centre was filled with actors, entertainers, sympathisers and the public.

Kwame Owusu Ansah

Popular actor Kwame Owusu Ansah died in a motor accident which occurred on the Accra-Tema Motorway on Thursday, May 1, 2008. His Toyota Camry with registration number GT4665Z had run under a parked cargo truck, getting mangled beyond repairs.

He died at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra on Friday, May 2, 2008, and was buried on June 16, 2008. His burial was heralded by a wake-keeping on Friday night at the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA’s) Press Center where the body was laid in state for public view. The final funeral rites were held at Pavilion ‘A’ of the Ghana Trade Fair Centre at La.

Thousands of people attended his funeral including Ghanaian and Nollywood (Nigerian) film stars such as Kanayo O. Kanayo and Jake Ayenam. The funeral grounds could not contain the masses that attended to bid him farewell.

Suzzy Williams

Popular actress Suzzy Lebene Malike Williams died on September 8, 2005, in a car crash, on the Accra-La road. Her death shook the nation as she was only 23 years old. Her funeral was held in October 2005 and thousands of mourners thronged the St. Charles Lwanga Catholic Church, at Abeka, to pay their last respects.

Before the funeral, she was laid in state at the premises of the Musician Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) on a 3-foot golden-plated iron bedstead. The crowd was uncontrollable and many had to stay outside the venue which was controlled by the police.

A section of Ghanaian actors, like Eunice Banini, Samira Yakubu, Kalsume Sinare, were seen weeping, uncontrollably, after they had staged a farewell play in honour of the late Suzzy Williams.

Actors from Nigeria including Opah Williams, Obot Otuk and Frank Raja, among others, attended the funeral.