Entertainment of Saturday, 2 October 2010

Source: The Chronicle

Kumasi Mourns Over Otwinoko's 'death'

The Ashanti regional capita, Kumasi was thrown into a state of anxiety on Thursday, September 30, when rumours made the rounds that one of the celebrated radio presenters in the city, Lindsford Kwabena Asare, also known as ‘Otwinoko’, was dead.

Immediately the news broke out, hundreds of people were reported to have turned in to Fox 97.9 FM, where the supposed ‘dead man’ hosts a social and traditional superstitious program, dubbed, “Ewiase Mu Nsem”, to authenticate the bizarre news.

Frantic calls were also made to very close pals to satisfy curiosity. The transmission of the program, via Asempa FM in Accra, made it a hot and favorite show, catching the attention of people even in the capital city.

But, information gathered by The Chronicle revealed that the celebrated presenter is still alive, and not dead, as was being speculated. However, the development has been met with mixed reaction.

Whereas his close associates and family members prefer to keep the information of his whereabouts close to their chests, sources say, it was an ordinary ailment and that the doctors hope to heal him as soon as possible.

A very reliable source told this reporter that Otwinoko has been grappling with a strange illness, and is currently on admission at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Otwinoko’s voice, for some weeks now, has been conspicuously missing on the airwaves, and that his listeners became very alarmed, thinking he had ‘passed away’.

The radio presenter is a favorite on the regional capital’s airwaves, and has attracted many listeners, both home and abroad, into his fold of fans.

Otwinoko has become the toast of many radio listeners, because of the dexterity with which he hosts his program, a feat, which has made him a hot cake in the radio business.

He has worked for three different radio stations in the Kumasi metropolis.

Linsford Kwabena Asare shot to fame at Mercury 91.5 FM, before he was poached under controversial circumstances by the Multimedia Group, where he worked for Nyira 104.5FM.

Otwinoko worked for the Multimedia Group for some time, and later moved to the F-Giant Broadcasting Limited, owners of FOX 97.9 FM in Kumasi and Hot FM in Accra.