Terry Bonchaka's Last Show

Those who watched Terry Bonchaka a.k.a Terry Adjetey perform at Legon as part of the Akuafo Hall week celebration in the early hours of Friday did not know that they were, in fact, watching Terry’s last show.

A few minutes after Terry performed three old songs and a new one from his upcoming album, he was involved in a fatal accident that claimed his life.

According to Ayisoba who performed the one stringed traditional guitar with him on the show, after their presentation, he said he was very tired and so went into his vehicle together with a gentleman they all call Rasta with the instruction that they should follow him in a taxi.

Ayisoba disclosed that they left Legon with Terry in the passenger’s seat of his vehicle while they followed in a taxi a few metres behind his vehicle.

He said that at the Legon Shell on the Legon/Madina road the vehicle suddenly veered off the road and hit a tree on the opposite side. Contrary to rumours that they were overtaking, Ayisoba said no overtaking was done.

Ayisoba who was narrating the circumstances surrounding the accident to members of Terry’s family in his family house at Agege, a suburb of Accra, stated that together with Ziggy and Aaron who were in the taxi, they rushed to rescue Terry and Rasta, and instructed the taxi driver to wait for them.

“When we got to the car we brought Rasta and Terry, who was unconscious, out of the car.”

Ayisoba explained that when they brought Terry out of the car, the taxi driver had left.

He said that sadly enough all the vehicles they flagged refused to stop to pick them to the hospital.

“It took us about 30 minutes to get a vehicle to pick us to the 37 Military Hospital where we were told that Terry was dead”

The visibly shaken Ayisoba said they went to Joy FM to break the news and left the station around 1am.

In a chat with Terry’s mother, Charlotte Armah, a staff of Accra Brewery Limited (ABL), she said that Terry’s younger sister Marilyn, who was with Terry on Thursday evening, said after they had chatted and watched a film, he informed her that he was leaving for a performance at Legon and even collected a paper meant for their father from her that he will give it to him after the programme in the morning.

Marilyn, who together with other family members were besides themselves with grief, could not be interviewed.

A number of Hiplife artistes including Batman, C.O. Lewis, Kokoveli and Nana King were in the family house to find out whether, indeed, the news about his death was true.

C.O. Lewis who took over from Terry Bonchaka as Hiplife Talent Champion last year could not leave the house as he could not believe that Terry was dead.

Some old school mates of Adisadel College who are in the house were seen singing old school songs and some of Terry’s popular tunes.

Terry won the 2001 Hiplife Talent hunt initiated by Media WhizzKids, and immediately made a mark on the hiplife music scene when his album “Ghana Ladies” (Gbee bi aklee), which was produced as part of his prize, hit the market.

His unique dance skills, costume and vocal presentation made him an instant celebrity among hiplife artistes, and succeeded in getting patrons on their feet anywhere he performed.

From the Legon Police Station, Jayne Buckman-Owoo reports that the investigator handling the case, Inspector Botchway said it was quite early for him give a full report since he was still investigating circumstances surrounding the accident.

Inspector Botchway confirmed that a report was made at their station at 11.50 pm on Thursday, October 30 by one Chester Avenorgbor that there had been an accident around the Ghana Standards Board Head Office near the Tetteh Quarshie Circle.

Together with a few colleagues, Inspector Botchway said they were unable to locate the vehicle that was involved in the accident. According to him, it was around 6am yesterday that he heard an announcement on Peace FM that Terry Bonchaka had been involved in an accident on the Legon road.

Inspector Botchway said he later located the badly damaged black sports car with registration number GW 7734U, near the Ghana Standard Board office.

At the 37 Military Hospital, where he had gone for confirmation, Inspector Botchway said that he was informed that 21-year-old Terry Adjetey, known as Terry Bonchaka in showbiz circles had passed away while one Emmanuel Yeboah, who was with him during the accident, had been treated and discharged.