Celebrity Sightings: The New Kardashians

It was a delightful girls’ day out for the gorgeous Ama K Abebrese, Jackie Appiah and Menaye Donkor at their new favourite bistro and cocktail bar, Crave( Labone, Adjacent the SIC Training Centre) but ended up as a rare celebrity sighting when they came under my ever watchful radar. There was no shying away from my camera when I spotted the ladies arrive in a sleek Land Rover rocking funky sunglasses and fresh casual clothes, well suited for the basking heat of Accra.

Being the fun loving divas they are, they smiled and willingly posed for some quick photos – a shutterbug’s delight – before heading into Crave to subdue the cravings. Not long, I discovered that all three ladies were in fact cousins and there were some more family members waiting inside the café to have dinner with them. It was jollof rice with chicken for Jackie and Ama K; and keeping up with her model figure, Menaye opted for sandwich and chips with plenty of drinks to go around for the divas and their other cousins. After the quick munch, they washed it down with a glass of Long Island, a fast growing specialty of Crave.

Then came my chance to catch up with the ‘girls’. Broadcaster/presenter Ama K Abebrese shared her excitement about her first ever major acting role alongside Haitian-born Hollywood actor, Jimmy Jean-Louis in the upcoming film, ‘Sinking Sands’, written and directed by Leila Djansi. “ its something that we have been in talks now for about 3 or 4 months and I think there were some things that needed to be ironed out. But now that its all systems go, it’s really exciting. I mean working with a screenwriter and director such as Leila who is great at what she does and an amazing actor like Jimmy Jean-Louis is interesting and I can’t wait”.

Milan based Menaye, a former Miss Universe Ghana/model/philanthropist and girlfriend of Ghanaian football star Sulley Muntari talked about new developments in her charity foundation, Menaye International School. “We are changing the name to Menaye Academy which would be launched in September. I am continuing to raise more funds from London, Milan and Ghana as well to cater for these children, in terms of their education, books and uniforms”. She was happy that the incidence concerning seating arrangements for her and her family at the Stadium that caused a public uproar not too long ago was now over and done with. She wished the Ghana Black Stars the best of luck in the upcoming World Cup tourney in South Africa.

Actress Jackie Appiah, who can soon be seen in the Venus Films production, ‘Foreplay’ expressed joy about her third African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) nomination for her lead role in ‘Perfect Picture’. Jackie who has won the AMAA for best supporting actress before is hoping to clinch the best lead actress nod come April 10, in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. She had this to say about working with filmmaker, Shirley Frimpong-Manso, “Shirley is a fantastic director, I was supposed to work with her earlier before Perfect Picture but because of my schedule I couldn’t. But as soon as I read the script for Perfect Picture, I fell in love with it. I think she has a beautiful mindset and she allows actors to bring their ideas into her movies. I am happy that she has been nominated for ‘best director’ and I wish she wins”.

Although, Menaye is the only one who hasn’t had any experience in acting, she hinted that she is open to it. Ama K’s love for food was also made evident by the girls but according to Ama, she has to eat a lot just to put on weight for her upcoming role in Sinking Sands. But Menaye says, “yea, right!”

Jackie, Menaye and Ama may soon be seen in a reality TV series similar to the ‘Keeping up with the Kardashians’ so watch this space. According to Ama K, plans are far advanced for the concept and all that remain is to find a network that can carry the format through.