Komla Dumor: Exit of ‘a star from the start’

Komla died at the age of 41 after a suspected heart attack at his London home, the BBC said. He was the presenter of Focus on Africa, the BBC’s first-ever dedicated daily TV news programme in English for African audiences, broadcast on BBC World News.He was also one of the lead presenters for BBC World […]

Komla died at the age of 41 after a suspected heart attack at his London home, the BBC said. He was the presenter of Focus on Africa, the BBC’s first-ever dedicated daily TV news programme in English for African audiences, broadcast on BBC World News.
He was also one of the lead presenters for BBC World News’ European morning segment.
Komla joined the BBC in 2006 after a decade of broadcast journalism in his native Ghana where he won the Ghana Journalist of the Year award.
Between 2007 and 2009 he hosted Network Africa for BBC World Service, before joining The World Today programme.
In 2009, he became the first host of the African business news programme on BBC World News, Africa Business Report.
Many commentators, including journalists in his home country Ghana, described him as a representation of modern journalism in Africa from his days of great success as Ghana’s most popular broadcaster with Joy-FM in Accra, where he won the Ghana Journalist of the Year award, to his inspiring rise at the BBC in London.
Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama took to twitter shortly after Dumor’s death to pay tribute to the famous broadcaster. Using his handle @JDMahama, he wrote: “Our nation has lost one of its finest ambassadors. @BBCkomladumor was a broadcaster of exceptional quality and Ghana’s gift to the world.”
Komla has travelled across Africa, meeting Africa’s top entrepreneurs and reporting on the latest business trends around the continent.
He has interviewed a number of high-profile guests including Bill Gates and Kofi Annan. He has anchored live coverage of major events including the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the funeral of Kim Jong Il, the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, the Norway shootings and the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
His programme has held many captive in the continent, it is unlikely that one will not watch focus Africa once it comes on the screen. He would definitely be missed.
Lyse Doucet, a Canadian journalist who is the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent and occasional Contributing Editor, described him as ‘a star from the start.’
According to her, “I first met Komla Dumor in 2007 on a blazing hot day in the Ghanaian capital, Accra. He still managed to sport a classy three-piece suit. A gaggle of young Ghanaians tagged along after him. When I ran into one of them later, I asked, “Are you working with Komla?” “No,” he replied with the proudest of grins, “I am part of his entourage.”
“Komla was a star from the start and, from that day, my broadcasting brother. He came to me for advice about working in the BBC. I went to him to discuss stories about Africa, and more. He bounced off our television screens with his warmth and winning smile. He kept our attention with the deep timbre of his voice, and the questions of a keen curious mind. When you met him in person, there was an enveloping bear hug to boot.
“Wherever I was in the world, just seeing him on the screen never failed to bring a smile to my day, and to the days of many others. Hours before Komla died, I was writing an email to tease him about the stacks of mail waiting for him in our shared pigeonhole. There were letters from near and far from people who wanted him in their world. We were all part of his entourage – and still are.”
For Solomon Mugera, a Kenya journalist working for the BBC World service, UK, “He [Komla] was a towering presence on television and the best talent the BBC had to tell the continent’s story – whether from its palaces or slums. Komla respected the rich and the poor, the powerful and the helpless, and those in between, in equal measure.”
Also paying tribute to Dumor, a Nigerian journalist based in Abuja John Chuks Azu wrote on his Facebook page: “Heartbroken as I watched the announcement of the death of Komla Dumor at 41. His recent report on the gay law in Africa- as usual, was a collector’s item.”
He further wrote that “We’ve lost a golden voice. One of the greatest youthful projectors of the positive about Africa. He joined BBC in 2006 as host of Focus on Africa. Has been a good presenter while in JoyFm, Ghana where he won best Journalist of the Year 2003. His grandfather, Philip Gbehu was the composer of the Ghanaian anthem. He died of cardiac arrest Saturday.”
Muhammad Jameel Yusha’u, who worked with Dumor for the BBC, wrote that “Early in 2010, I was briefly transferred from the BBC Hausa Service for an attachment at the now rested flagship programme, the World Today, which has been fused with BBC Network Africa, where Komla was a presenter, to what is now called Newsday. Komla was one of the leading presenters in World Today, and one of the most appreciated by his colleagues, because he is reliable, will come to duty on time, and has the ability to grill interviewees, when there is need to do so, and can be as humorous as you would expect a lively presenter to be.”
In a statement, the Media Foundation for West Africa, a regional independent, non-governmental organisation based in Accra, shared their deep condolences for the loss of “one of Africa’s best journalists.”
“Komla raised the standard of journalism in Africa, and brought a lot of pride to many Ghanaians and Africans when he joined the BBC Africa Service and later, the World Service…  He was an an illustrious journalist and a trailblazer for many young journalists in Ghana and Africa as a whole. .. We have indeed lost a talented gem in journalism, Komla, damirifa due! Rest in peace!”
Komla was born in Accra to a family of academics. His mother, Cecilia, was an educationist, editor and writer of children’s books, and a key influence in encouraging Komla to take up journalism.
His father, Ernest, was a professor of sociology, and his sister, Mawuena, a geologist, who worked in communications for mining companies.
His grand-father Philip Gbeho was a renowned musician who was asked by the country’s founding father, Kwame Nkrumah, to compose the country’s national anthem following independence in 1957. Komla was said to have inherited both his powerful voice and striking physique.
In fact, Komla Dumor may as well be a Nigerian star having attended St Thomas Secondary School in Kano State, Nigeria and was even offered a place in the University of Jos to study medicine in the late 1980s. However, unlike his brother, Korshie, who went on to become a doctor, Komla returned to the University of Ghana to take up a degree course in sociology and psychology and then studied for a master’s in public administration at Harvard. During his time as a radio broadcaster in Ghana he took a pride in his attempts to challenge corruption in the public sector.
In November 2013, New African magazine named Komla as one of the 100 most influential Africans. He married Kwansema Quansah, a lawyer, in 2001. She survives him, along with their daughters, Elinam Makafui and Emefa Araba, their son, Elorm Efadzinam, and Ernest, Mawuena and Korshie.
Born 3 October 1972; died 18 January 2014. Komla was the holder of a BA in Sociology and Psychology from the University of Ghana, and an MPA from Harvard University.