“I Am Not In Jail!”: Nkomode Speaks Out

After several years of disappearing from the entertainment scene in Ghana, popular Ghanaian comedian Yaw Donko, popular known back home as Nkomode, has finally spoken publicly to Ghanaians and his fans all over the world about his where-abouts and what he is doing now.

Nkomode, who was rumoured after his sudden disappearance to have been arrested and gaoled in London for narcotic related offences, has for the first time, broken his silence on the issue. In an exclusive interview on Peace FM’s “Entertainment Review”, the local standup comedian and former member of the Kristo Asafo Drama Group revealed that he has never been involved in anything that has to do with drugs, neither has he been arrested or jailed.

“Who said I am in prison? They should check from all prisons and police Stations in London to find out where I was imprisoned, when I was arrested, and what crime I committed because we work with expatriates and everything is on record. If I was truly arrested and jailed, it would have appeared on the internet. I am not in jail and I have never been to jail before,” this was the lost and found comedian’s reaction when host of the show, Kwasi Aboagye asked him if indeed it was true he jailed for dealing in illicit drugs.

He left the shores of Ghana in 2002 when he was at his peak and has since not returned to Ghana.

“I left Ghana in 2002 straight to London. I had no problem and have never been involved with the police. I didn’t come by sea, I came by air just like any other person. I came to London but I live in Manchester now.

Asked if he also heard the rumours about his arrest, Nkomode said “Yes, when I first came to London, anytime someone comes from Ghana they tell me there is news in Ghana that I have been arrested and jailed for cocaine. When people who live in London visit Ghana and they return, they tell me that even when they deny the allegation and tell Ghanaians that I live in the UK, they don’t believe it. Anybody who wants to see Nkomode should come to London, I am here”.

Asked to substantiate reports that he cannot come back to Ghana again because he was involved in some "connection" issues before he left, the ace comedian explained that it was a normal issue where he gave out someone’s invitation to a different person to travel with him to London and pay a certain amount to the owner of the invitation, but when they arrived in London, they refused to pay him the money, and he ended up bearing the cost himself.

“I was owing some people for some connection issues but I have been able to pay off everyone when I got to London. This is the whole issue but I was not arrested. I have never dealt in cocaine before and I will never do that,” Nkomode told Peace FM.

He also disclosed that he got very sick for several months when he first got to London, which may account for his silence and his disappearance from the public eye for some time, but Nkomode has assured his fans that he is very much alright now, and will be coming to Ghana very soon for good.

As to what he has been doing in London for the past 9 years or so since he left Ghana, and what he is presently doing in Manchester City, Nkomode said when he first went to London he worked at a hospital in London and he later worked at one of the biggest Police Stations in London. Asked to tell Ghanaians and his fans when exactly he should be expected back in Ghana he said “I will come back to Ghana very soon. I will land in Ghana live before the end of this year. Ghanaians should pray for me”. He said one of the reasons why he was not too eager to come to Ghana was because he able to listen to Peace FM news through Rainbow Radio and also reads news about Ghana on the internet, so it is always like he is in Ghana.

Nkomode is known in Ghana for his consistency in the then Key Soap Concert Party at the National Theater. He won the Champion of Champions comedy competition for three years in a row. He defeated local comedian Pope Okala (Real name: Kwadjo Boabeng) in 1996, to win it for the first time, he beat another comedian called ‘Original 32’ to win the Champion of Champions for the second time; in 1997, and Nkomode defeated Agya Koo (Kofi Adu) who is currently the popular actor in Ghana in 1998 to win the title for the third conservative time.

He hinted that he may go into main stream acting, when he comes to Ghana, and will always do comedy.