DANDALA- This Dandala Is the Epitome of the Odyssey of an African Man Besieged with Society’s Expectations and His Personal Fla

He is not your drop-dead gorgeous kind of guy but his African red lips have an easily smiling look that is guaranteed to attract. Hlomla Dandla is a well educated and travelled man who has been acting and directing South African movies which transcends into major parts of the African continent. When you are a core element of productions like Isidingo, Jacob’s Cross, Generations, All You Need Is Love, Interrogation Room, Land Of Thirst, Gaz’lam and Jozi-H and the son of a man who was once the head of all African Christian council, scandal is bound to bed you. This

Dandla is the epitome of the odyssey of an African man besieged with society’s expectations and his personal flaws. The thirty-five year old got divorced from his wife ironically after presenting the reality show, “All You Need Is Love”.
Dandla was born in London and has therefore been tagged as one of the people who sometimes find themselves lost as to where they really belong. ‘Baby making machine’ as he is called has three different daughters from three different women. Though he is famous, he is bound by a society that frowns on Christians having children outside wedlock.

Though English was his first language, he thinks and dreams in Xhosa because that is the language his parents speak to him with. Despite being acculturated, he says, “It is very funny, when I get upset, even at home, they know when I am speaking Xhosa that, “Alright, he’s not filtering anymore”. He appreciates the people and the land since people are ready to offer a helping hand anytime.

Amidst all glamour, he acknowledges that he is not a city boy by a long shot. His hometown is quiet arid but something sparks whenever he goes home. He has been circumcised as expected of every young man and he feels quite proud of himself for that attainment which meant he could partake in family meetings. A family meeting in Dandaville (the place is literally full of Dandalas) is a must for him since it offers spiritual refreshment.
The Scandal of baby making was followed by another rumor that there were more skeletons in the closet. This made him admit on air that the only truth was that he had three different baby girls from three women. After conceding, he added that, “I am learning more and more that I am traditional man. I thought I was a modern man. I am also a family protector, a king of my castle”.

Dandla directed, “The Bet” which was screened on all South African broadcasting channels. This interested him because it was meant to spark a debate on values like peer pressure, HIV/AIDS and pre-marital sex within the society which he felt spoke to him on a personal level. The Bet was God-based and as such a very delicate subject because of his father’s status and what he was being lashed out at. He might not be a bishop like his father but to him one of the best platforms to preach was the production. Religion he says has become too judgmental and preachy so he rather engaged people in the movie.
Prayer was an integral part of his childhood and it still was but people and maybe his father were not seeing it that way. He drew on his own experience with his father to direct a part of the movie to make a statement that flaws does not mean it is all lost. To him most fathers would not be patient with their wards when they for instance find drugs in their school bags as it happened in the movie. In his mind he could not help but imagine his father shouting, “Do you think I am stupid” even as he denied knowledge of the drug.

Dwelling in flaws to him is not the best; rather allow it to give you direction. That is why he thinks the timing for the movie was perfect. “It seems there is too much negativity in our society. There is backlash from the apartheid era, but we need to work on these issues. We pulled together to fight the regime and it worked eventually. Surely we can rise up again and overcome our difficulties?”

FASHIONISTA H. MONTIA- THE BEAUTY IN ME

She clinched the Miss Malaika crown at the age of eighteen, becoming the youngest queen of the Miss Malaika series. It did not just end there for her; she carried along her innocent, refreshing and sexy personality to niche a name for herself in modelling. The feat she has achieved is bound to take place as the young lady says her determination drive is so high that sometimes it scares her. Since she doesn’t want to be just another model passing through the well established modelling world of New York, she is back home working tirelessly in the quest to become “a model that helped build fashion and modelling in Ghana.” She is currently working to promote her, I AM FASHION concept. What’s On caught up with the beauty queen during one of her rounds on Oxford street, Osu RE to get first hand information on who she really is and the aftermath of Malaika.
WHO IS HAMAMAT?

“She is a simple girl who doesn’t really like simple things. I do things to fit me as a person and I’m also an extrovert.”

WHAT IS THE SECRET BEHIND YOUR BEAUTY?
“Hmm! I have used shea butter since my childhood. I know that sounds surprising but my grandmother is a naturalist who was awarded by the ex- president, Mr. John Agyakum Kuffour. She has also being honoured a doctorate degree by a group doctors who learnt from her though she has never been to school. So you can imagine the extent to which she influenced my parents and me. At first, I thought it was not fashionable but with my dry skin, I realised it is the only remedy for me.”

GIVE US A BRIEF BACKGROUND ABOUT YOURSELF.

“My parents are Mr. Ibrahim Montia and Mad. Arsha Taimoko. I have two other siblings. We hail from a small town called Kandia in the Upper West region.”

DO YOU THINK FAME TOOK AWAY THE NORMALCY OF GROWING UP?

“Yes it did since I had to mature quickly to match up to the new status. I could not hang out with my friends as often as I wished but then, I knew it was all for the best. It felt like being camped in a box but I don’t regret what has become of me so far.”


DO YOU MODEL FOR ANY FAMOUS DESIGN THAT WE KNOW OF AND HOW EASY WAS IT LANDDING THE JOB?

“Yes I am on for Akon’s Konvict, Forward, Baby Phat and Bravo TV. So far, I think modelling for Konvict, Akon’s clothing line, landed me on the modelling pedestal but it wasn’t easy getting there.
In New York, thousands of potential models go for audition on daily basis. They did not take into account whether one was a beauty queen or not. I was schooling and at the same time going for castings each day. It became very difficult and frustrating but I never gave up until an agency called me to work for Konvict.”

WORKING FOR KONVICT MEANS YOU MET AKON PERSONALLY. WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION AT THAT MOMENT?

“I can’t really describe it because when I saw him, everything looked normal. But when I got home, my sister made so much fuss about it. Then it finally hit me.... wow! I have really met the man. I was so thrilled. Later he got to know that I was an African so we automatically clicked because we had something in common. The next experience was great because I had finally met someone who was darker than I was. Meeting him, one can tell he has not allowed fame to thwart his focus on life”

WHAT MADE YOU GO FOR MALAIKA?

“I had just completed Achimota Secondary School and was seriously searching for a job because I was restless. A cousin of mine saw the advert on television and informed me of the pageant and the car involved. That was what really got me interested but I was a tomboy so I had to quickly change into the girlish type to fit in.”

AT AGE 18, WHAT GAVE YOU THE ADVANTAGE OVER FELLOW CONTESTANTS TO CLINCH THE CROWN?

“I think they all took me for granted because they were in the tertiary institution and older than I was. They looked so elegant and I could not help but respect them as we do to our seniors at the boarding house. I was always thinking of what I could do right that they were ignoring. I was late in preparing my speech at a time when other contestants were already memorising and fluently presenting theirs. I was also confused about what to perform as my talent. So on the eve of the finals, I kept playing with my laptop until a Michael Jackson song started playing and ‘bam’, I got my talent. But the dance routines were not easy and at a point, I wanted to quit all together.”



WHAT IN YOUR OPINION HAS DRIVEN YOU TO WHERE YOU ARE TODAY?
“I think God and my family are my backbone. From the onset, some friends and members of the extended family criticized me because of my age and Islamic religion. It nearly hindered me from taking part in the Miss Malaika pageant but my parents gave me the full support.”


WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU WERE GROWING UP?

“That list is long! I wanted to be a doctor, then an air hostess and whole lot of other professions.”

HOW FAR WOULD YOU WANT TO TAKE YOUR MODELLING CAREER?

“I am still a model for my agencies but now I want to lay a stronger foundation in Ghana. After my experience in New York, I think the average Ghanaian has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to which attire to wear and for which occasion. So i hope to use my, I AM FASHION Media Consultancy to groom aspiring models and those that are already in the business to be the best in what they do. Again, plans are far ahead regarding a TV show I will be hosting. The show is going to be about fashion and will line up designers and makeup artists who will provide useful tips for all body types. So people should watch out.”

WHICH OTHER PAGEANTS DID YOU TAKE PART IN?

“I won both Model of the Universe Africa and Model of the World Personality. I placed fourth at the Model of the Universe and got to the Top 10 of Face of Africa.”

WOW, THAT’S QUITE AN ACHIEVEMENT! SO WERE THERE ANY CHALLENGES OUT THERE?

“I don’t really consider this as a challenge but I realized I was the only black girl in the Model World pageant. We went out one day and a little boy ran to me and licked my hand; those around started laughing. I asked what was going on only to be told the boy thought I was a chocolate statue. I was so embarrassed but it also looked very strange. Now I just laugh whenever I recollect the incident. There was also an incident of an airport aid ignoring my heavy luggage to help the next white passenger. That shocked me because I thought racism was a thing of the past.”
ANY PARTING LYRICS?

“I’m more experienced than before and I have so much to offer. Ghanaians should get ready because the fashion and modelling scene in Ghana is going to be big and more exciting.”

MIMI-LEAVE ME ALONE

It is really exciting, the way she managed to weave controversy around her to become one of the most talked about contestants in the ‘Big Brother Africa House’. In the house, she brought out some of the different characters we all possess but she would never portray them on TV. Yeah, she did not bring home the money but she accomplished her aim. You don’t agree with her? Well she says: just “leave me alone.”
Wilhelmina Abu Adani grew up in the garden city and was named Mimi by her first boyfriend. She says those days it was very cool to be in the most popular school so she pestered her parents to change her schools so she could attend schools like Holy Spirit International and Martyrs of Uganda to finish up her J.S.S education.
She completed her secondary school at Aburi Girls Senior Secondary and then went for a degree in chemistry at University of Cape Coast. She spent a year at the Tema Oil Refinery as a chemist and travelled to France to get a degree but ended up in University of Alicante in Spain to learn Spanish.
Mimi says she has always been a big fan of reality shows and that enabled her to follow Big Brother Brazil and Big Brother UK since they were initiated. It was thus a dream come true when Big Brother was introduced to Africa. She auditioned for the show in 2007; she admits that her contenders at the audition were of high profile but she sailed through to grab the spot for Ghana.
Her modus operandi to win when she entered the house was to be an, “I don’t care” type of person who has no taste of fashion. She thought this tactics would make her the most unnoticed person in the house. She also used the method of playing on the minds of other house mates. “This method I used back fired big time”.
Unknown to her, Africa was getting pissed off by her shabby way of dressing including her always messy hair. Mimi also became a big time gossip in the house and one could never tell who her next informant was going to be and to whom it would be divulged to. Unfortunately for her, her tactics worked for the housemates since it kept them on their toes.
Her relationship with Ricco was never a secret in the house but she insists nothing ever happened between them because their closeness was only for the sake of friendship. In the house she never realized her mistake because she was not being put up for eviction and thought her plans were working out just fine.
“It was quiet challenging to be there since one had to be an all-round person to be able to perform tasks like children’s puzzle which I had always taken for granted”. As to how she felt when she got home, she said, “excitement and disappointment”. “I was excited because I was finally out of the maddening BBF house and disappointed because I did not get my hands on the money”.
Her eviction met some criticisms but she is adamant about her stance regarding her performance. One would therefore see her as arrogant and stubborn but she says that is just because it takes a lot to change her views on an issue. This she said has prevented her from making mistakes in life, “though it has also made me lose some things in life”.
The title of her first single release, “leave me alone”, she says, was for her critics but the message of the song goes for boys who can’t pay for big girls like her: “if you no get dollar, make you no hala”.
She was of the view that the lack of presence of female musicians in Ghana is because all of them are doing sweet flowing love songs the likes of Keisha Cole and Beyonce will do. The irony, she says, is that the female musicians in Ghana do not perform energetically as our male counterparts. She is, however, optimistic that female musicians would eventually catch up since their numbers are increasing gradually. There are quite a few of us like “Mzbel, Irene, Becca and Eazzy”.
Her story as a female musician, she believes, would be different because of the two record labels managing her: Movingui Records and Empire Entertainment. Mimi describes her person as “sporty” and says her performances are going to be filled with energy like Ghanaians have never experienced before. Her Album is expected to hit the music market in the first week of September.
Currently her two latest singles “Tattoo” and “Fama me” (written by Chase) are blazing on the air waves. Though she admits she is no longer in a relationship with her boyfriend, she debunks rumours that the breakup was due to incidents from ‘Big Brother’; “currently am single, mingling and chilling”. Mimi believes, “for someone to believe in you, you must believe in yourself”.

SPIRIT OF PLAYMANSHIP

He is the most unassuming person one could come across and has no form of education in literature, yet plays like, “Confused husbands, Unhappy wives”, “Mr. President Your Move”, “What Dad Left Behind” and “The Devil In The Mirror” were brought to life by him. These productions have been success after success and so What’s On decided to interview the man who is making night-life in the city more entertaining and educative.
Who is Ebo Whyte?
Very typical of him, he says Ebo Whyte is a man with grey hair, two hands and two feet. “We all laugh over that before he continues”: I am James Ebo Whyte, married to Mrs. Florence Whyte for twenty six years. I did statistics at the University of Ghana and taught myself marketing and accounting. I have fathered adopted children to the university level after which they begin life on their own. Because they are not biologically mine, I never name any of them after myself.
How did you start Roverman Production?
I started producing plays in 1975 for ‘Youth for Christ’ where we performed in town halls and community centres. In 2002 I did two productions which did not go too well, one of which was “Mr. President, Your Move”. Then later on, my business partner, Mr. Wireko asked me to do another play because it had been some time since I had done one. We agreed that he takes all the financial risks. We started and it went very well and we did “Mr. President,Your Move” again because the political environment suited the theme.
Are you naturally a skilled Playwright or were you tutored and what made you start writing?
Every playwright is naturally skilled. No school can ever teach that except the basic elements. In the classical play, “Tartuffe”, where the man of God was a villain, I did not like that fact so I decided to write plays that bring out the good in men of God. But now I know even men of God can cheat.
How difficult was it for you to contribute your quota to the facelift of the theatre industry?
Theatre productions have never been dead, in the first place. Every church at least produces two plays in a year. On commercial basis, however, it was basically due to curfews of the military era which resulted in the killing of our night life on the whole. The stable political life, I admit, gave way for some of us to come out this way. The patronage as of now is by a few people because a whole generation lost contact with the theatre and they naturally found other forms of entertainment. So once this political stability is sustained we can have more of this.

There is no doubt themes of your plays are identifiable with the norms of our society; do you think they are impacting well on society or people just watch them for entertainment sake?
Let us not undermine the essence of fun and entertainment. Our work productivity is known to increase when people have fun; people don’t fight in traffic when they identify similar situations in my plays. All the same I believe the plays are impacting quiet well since I have testimonies of a foreigner making up with the wife after watching, “Confused husbands, Unhappy wives”. There is also a top-notch businessman who took a day off to be with the daughter since he realized he had been missing out a lot. This was after watching “the devil in the mirror”.
How different are your directorial concepts from other directors?
I have a different mindset about Ebo Whyte, the playwright and the director. When directing I interpret the characters as individuals and as a team. The cast must also bring out the character well. Again I give my cast the freedom to give their own interpretations which must be consistent with the plot, set, costume and even dialogue delivery. They all write an essay on who they think the character is and the relation to other characters. The first three weeks of our rehearsals are all about creative brainstorming.
How are you coping with the challenges in the industry?
I handle it just as one would cope with challenges in life. You must make up your mind this is what God wants so you do it, no matter what.
How and where do you get your ideas for your plays? Is it from a scene in real life or you pull you curtain and you witness a fight and an idea occurs to you?
For a creative person, it’s difficult to explain but an encounter can play in your mind; you write and rewrite until you think it is practical and well groomed.
What inspires you?
God inspires me.
The rates of your productions make it quiet impossible for some people to watch; since interest in play productions are already on the low side can there be another way to get more people to be drawn in?
I have not met anyone who says the rates are high. The rates have actually compelled other production houses to cut down their prices. If you do not create a value for your show, you attract the wrong crowd.
Which is your favourite production so far?
My favourite is always my next play; one must always look into the future.
Do you ever think of going into movies?
Currently I want to be doing what God has placed in my hands.
Do you see a future for the theatre industry?
I foresee a very huge success.
What next should we expect from Roverman Productions?
We are going to have more efficient and effective productions. We have to find ways of getting better.
What is your philosophy?
We are here for a purpose. It doesn’t matter how long it takes and a person’s richness is defined by the number of people he has made rich.

Kelewele – ‘THE GOLDEN DISH’

About a year ago Kate got a new friend who ate kelewele regularly. Kate personally did not fancy eating kelewele because she was keeping an eye on her diet. The friend brushed her off claiming it would take more than a little kelewele to put on extra weight.
Kate bought some and it tasted good with its hot crispiness blended with groundnuts. She became so glued that she could smell it a mile away. Kate continued in her new addiction and even started preparing the kelewele at home in order to get it in large quantities. From then on it became a desert to every meal Kate could add it to.
She was browsing once and checked the nutritional value of her favourite pastime. Kate could not believe her eyes and as a doubting Thomas she checked another blog to confirm what she had read. My fellow kelewele eaters, this is the news.
Before I go into its nutritional values, however, I would like to let those who are not familiar with kelewele to get acquainted with it. Kelewele is a Ghanaian snack which is called hot plantain crisps in English. They are made from ripe plantains which are normally cut into small chunks and coated with a mixture of spices. The spices could include ginger, onion, garlic, sekoni (aniseed), hwentia (black pepper), salt and pepper. The sweet small chunks of the ripe plantain with the spices are then deep fried in hot oil until it turns golden brown.
This could be served with rice or usually with fried or roasted groundnuts. Kelewele is normally sold at key points by the roadside late afternoons and at night. The next time you happen to be in these areas make sure you get your special kelewele: Tema community 1 at Casino, Community 2 at the BBC area; from the DD base, on the second junction after Adabraka Police Station and in Madina opposite the Methodist church. You do not have to worry at not finding the exact place because the appetizing aroma and the queues would invite you to your delicacy.
Plantain in itself is highly nutritious. It is a good source of potassium, magnesium and phosphate. It is full of vitamin A, C and carbohydrate. Dietary fibre can be found in plantain and that I know sustains and prevents you from eating regularly.
Now to the issue I have been evading all this while. Kate’s research revealed to her that ripe plantain contains sugars which have been broken down hence its sweetness. The softness of the ripe plantain and the deep frying is what results in the crisp, golden brown edges we all love. The groundnut it is served with is rich in protein.
This precious delicacy is a good source of nutrients needed to balance our staple meals. Be sure to wash it down with orange or any vitamin C based fruit. This mops up any harmful effect it might possess. Don’t forget to take as little groundnut as possible; we sure don’t want to be burdened with too much fat. That would be too great a price to pay for eating the sweet kelewele!
What’s On sampled views from the public why they like to eat Kelewele:
Gyamfi, 35: “After your meal it can be served as desert, it helps to make the whole eating process a lot more exciting”
Ellennora, 23: “I just love its crispiness”
Christine, 17: “With all that oil, I don’t venture there. I want to keep my shape”
Prince, 28:“I don’t know why but I like it. I guess it is because it is from plantain which doctors say is very good for us. And with the groundnut! It is sweet, just sweet…!