Supporting NDC cost me fans, shows and business opportunities: MzBel

Ghanaian musician and entrepreneur MzBel has opened up about the personal and professional setbacks she says followed her decision to publicly identify with the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

According to the musician, her decision to openly campaign for and defend the NDC resulted in the loss of fans, performances and business opportunities, particularly from individuals associated with the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Speaking in an interview with Kafui Dey, MzBel said she previously enjoyed support from people across the political divide before making her political affiliation public.

She explained that once she became more vocal about her support for the NDC, some of her NPP-affiliated followers stopped supporting her.

“Before I came out fully as an NDC member, showed my face as an NDC member, I had followers and fans from NPP. But then I boldly came out and started talking for my party. So automatically I’ll lose all those people,” she said.

MzBel further disclosed that she was excluded from some events she had regularly performed at because the organisers were connected to the NPP.

She said the situation became more difficult when the NPP returned to power, as she lost several business deals she had previously benefited from.

“I was blacklisted from some events that I used to get every year. They were organised by NPP people. And even when NPP came to power, I lost a lot of their deals,” she stated.

The musician also recounted an occasion when she was taken off the programme of an event just days before she was scheduled to perform.

According to her, organisers told her that the decision was linked to the political identity of the event’s guest of honour.

“I remember there was a show at Mervyn Peak I was supposed to perform. A few days before the show, they called me and said their guest of honour is one big NDC woman, an NPP woman. And because of her, they had to take me off the show,” she recounted.

MzBel said her political stance also affected some international performances, claiming that organisers sometimes cancelled her appearances after she had already helped publicise the events.

She said such experiences made her believe that she could have avoided many of the setbacks if she had chosen not to publicly declare her political allegiance.

“Not just that, even shows outside Ghana. They will cancel me later after I’ve posted the flyer. So if I didn’t come out to say that I am NDC, defending my party and all of that, I would have been doing well,” she said.

Beyond losing professional opportunities, MzBel said her political involvement also affected her relationship with sections of the public and even some members of the party she supported.

“I lost half of my fans. I lost half of my fan base. And the party I followed too, well, it didn’t do me any good,” she stated.

She also alleged that she faced hostility from some people within the NDC, including verbal abuse, social media attacks and threats of physical violence.

“People in the party physically and verbally attacked me, insulted me, called me out on social media, threatened to beat me and all of that,” she disclosed.

Explaining why she became passionate about the NDC in the first place, MzBel traced her political connection to her upbringing in Jamestown and her admiration for the late former President Jerry John Rawlings.

She said her environment and the influence of Rawlings played a major role in shaping her political identity.

“It was Rawlings and Jamestown. It’s all about Rawlings and NDC. It became like a religion for us,” she said.

However, MzBel now says she has moved away from partisan politics and does not intend to identify herself with either of Ghana’s two major political parties.

She described her experience as a lesson that has changed her perspective on political affiliation.

“It’s not even about the party, but it’s a lesson I was supposed to learn. And I have learned that lesson,” she stated.

MzBel ultimately declared that she now sees herself simply as a Ghanaian rather than as a supporter of either the NDC or NPP.

“I’m not NDC. I’m not NPP. I’m not. I’m nothing. I’m just a Ghanaian. And I decide whether I want to vote or not,” she said.