Detty December Brings Euphoria and Hope for Ghana’s Future
President John Mahama’s re-election gave some Ghanaians “cautious optimism” during the festival season.
Ernest Ankomah and Emmanuel Kwame Sarpong
Traditionally a season of grand, energetic festivities, Ghana’s 2024 Detty December celebration was a little different this time.
It had been planned in a more subdued mood. With a tense and uncertain political climate surrounding the presidential election on Dec. 7, 2024, plus astounding inflation (one U.S. dollar is now approximately 15 Ghanaian cedis, compared with 4 cedis in 2015), event organizers had scaled back their typically extravagant productions.
“We needed to be sure the election wouldn’t spill over,” says Abdul Karim Abdullah, co-founder of the annual AfroFuture Fest (formerly Afrochella) during Detty December. Instead of hosting the festival at El Wak Stadium, which can accommodate up to 7,000 people, Abdullah headed to the beach. “But while planning for the beach, we experienced issues of global warming. The beach was being lost to the water.”
Regardless, the event successfully morphed into the inaugural Culture Beach Jam, an intimate, laidback festival on Labadi Beach. Despite the challenges, the stripped-down festival offered attendees a chance to connect with Ghanaian music and culture against a tranquil coastal backdrop.
In contrast, Detty Rave, another hallmark event of the season, still brought a high-energy experience, gathering thousands of revelers to shake off the past year’s tension.
The election outcome saw President John Mahama return to power January 7. His 2012 – 2017 presidential term ended with the election of President Nana Akufo-Addo, whose presidency was rife with pandemic-related economic difficulties and rampant controversies, including mismanagement of public funds.
For many Ghanaians, Mahama’s victory feels like a turning point; the sense of relief and cautious optimism was palpable.
At Detty Rave, one attendee expressed: “I’m outside tonight because I contributed my quota to ejecting the previous government. It would’ve been a different story if they retained power. … He’s the lesser evil, but with that margin of victory, he can’t afford to get a foot wrong.”
At the Africa Rising Festival at Polo Beach Club, another attendee reflected: “I’m not asking for much — I just want people from the previous government arrested and jailed for all the harm they’ve caused us. The last eight years were a complete setback.”
As the festivities transitioned into the new year, the mood across Ghana was one of resilience, underscoring a collective determination to build a better future — in celebration, and in governance.
Ernest Ankomah is a freelance Ghanaian visual journalist based in Accra, Ghana. He specializes in storytelling through photography and videography, covering politics, climate change and other social issues across West Africa. Ernest regularly strings for Getty Images. His work has been featured in Le Monde, The Guardian, Bloomberg and The Continent.
