The long-standing debate over who truly coined the name “Kumawood” has reignited, as veteran filmmaker and CEO of Miracle Films, Samuel Nyamekye, strongly refutes recent claims made by entertainment personality Samdakus.
Samdakus, speaking in a recent interview, boldly claimed credit for coining the now-iconic label used to describe films produced in Kumasi.
However, Samuel Nyamekye, a pioneer in Ghana’s local film industry, is pushing back—hard.
In a spirited rebuttal, Miracle Films dismissed Samdakus’ assertion as “false and historically inaccurate.”
“Samdakus didn’t create the name — I did!” he declared. 7
“In 2008, during the funeral of actor Kwame Owusu Ansah in Accra, Kumasi filmmakers were being sidelined. Out of frustration, I said, ‘We, the Kumawood people, are leaving!’ That’s how the name started.”
Nyamekye acknowledged that while Samdakus played a role in popularising the term—particularly through the organisation of the Kumawood Awards—the actual creation of the name was his alone.
“Creating the name and promoting it are two different things,” he emphasised. “I gave birth to Kumawood—others only helped raise it.”
He cautioned that, “No one should ever claim they created Kumawood. Everyone in the industry knows I’m the father of Kumawood. Let’s speak the truth!”
