Becca’s Kora Award Missing

Ghanaian Afro-Highlife songstress Rebecca Acheampong known in Showbiz circles as Becca, who had no idea she had won an award at the just ended Kora All Africa Awards, is still looking for the plague and all that comes with it.

Becca won the ‘Best African Prospect’ recently at the award held in Burkina Faso, but the singer and her management E.K.B Records had no idea about this great achievement until three days ago, when a government official who attended the event informed Kiki Banson, her Manager.

Kiki revealed this when he spoke to Kwasi Aboagye on Peace FM’s “Entertainment Review” programme, yesterday Thursday April 22, 2010. “I didn’t know about this. It was yesterday when officials of the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture called to inform me. They asked me if I was aware Becca had won a Kora and I said no!

"I think the president of Ghana was invited but he couldn’t attend because the invitation was on a short notice but he sent the ministry to represent him. So they witnessed the awards”, he said.

When Kiki was asked who went for Becca’s award on the night when her name was announced as the winner, he said “We are yet to find out”. He recalled that about two months ago, the organizers called to inform him of Becca’s nomination but they had a bit of a challenge which led to break in communication.

According to Kiki, this was the first time the event was organized outside South Africa. “The local organizers in Burkina Faso only speak French and it was very difficult to communicate with them because they couldn’t speak English and I couldn’t speak French. We kept going back and forth and I didn’t hear from them again”, he explained.

For now, Kiki who was at the ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture at the at the time he spoke to Peace FM, is liaising with the officials of the ministry to find out who accepted on her behalf Becca’s award and how the award can get to Becca in Ghana.

Becca and Shasha Marley who won the ‘Best Reggae artiste’ award on the same night add up to a group of great Ghanaian names who have won Kora in the past. They are, Abrantie Amakyi Dede, Maestro Kojo Antwi and Hiplife grand papa Reggie Rockstone.

However, Becca is the youngest musician and the first Ghanaian female to have achieved these feats. She also won the ‘Best Female Vocal Performance’ and ‘Record of the year’ at this year’s 11th edition of Ghana Music Awards.