Ghanaian musician and entrepreneur MzBel said that openly declaring her support for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has cost her fans, gigs and business opportunities.
Speaking to Kafui Dey, the artist explained that before she announced her NDC affiliation she enjoyed a fan base that included supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). Once she began speaking for the NDC, she “automatically lost all those people,” she said.
MzBel recalled being blacklisted from events that were traditionally organized by NPP members and losing deals even after the NPP came to power. She recounted a specific incident at Mervyn Peak where she was removed from a show a few days before the event because the guest of honour was an NPP woman and the organizers chose to drop her.
The singer also said that shows outside Ghana were cancelled after she promoted them, noting that her political stance made her a target for “physical and verbal attacks, insults and threats” from within the party she followed.
She traced her love for the NDC to her upbringing in Jamestown and admiration for former President Jerry John Rawlings, describing the party as a kind of religion for her community.
Despite the setbacks, MzBel said the experience taught her a lesson and she no longer wishes to belong to any political party. She concluded, “I’m not NDC. I’m not NPP. I’m nothing. I’m just a Ghanaian. And I decide whether I want to vote or not.”
What follows is a reminder that political expression can carry personal and professional costs for public figures in Ghana’s polarized landscape.
