Daddy Lumba’s illness lasted only two years, not 17

Gospel musician Isaiah Kwadwo Ampong, popularly known as Great Ampong, has refuted claims that Highlife legend Daddy Lumba was bedridden for 17 years.

Ampong said he had first met Lumba in 2012 after one of his performances in an interview on Neat FM with Ola Michael.

“He told me he had been looking for me and he was so happy. He lifted me up in the presence of Roman Fada. He said to me that if Ghanaians knew what’s in me, they would lift me up as he did,” Ampong recalled.

Ampong explained that although Lumba’s health declined over the years, he was not confined to bed for the extended period being reported.

“Those saying he was sick and bedridden for 17 years should stop spreading lies. I’m aware he wasn’t as strong as he was when he lifted me up, but he wasn’t sick like how I met him in a wheelchair,” he said.

According to Ampong, Lumba became wheelchair-bound close to two years before his passing. “Odo Broni, who was taking care of him, served me when I got there,” he added.

He further revealed that Lumba’s condition had been deliberately kept private;“He used to watch me in the CCTV cameras whenever I was there, but he was the one who told them not to allow anyone see him because of his condition.”

Ampong said he chose to speak now to correct misinformation. “I preferred not to speak after his death, but hearing the lies people are fabricating made me want to explain things properly,” he stated.