Nana Adomako Nyamekye Biography: Adwoa Pinamang, the 1981 Coup and His Bond With Daddy Lumba

Nearly two decades after his last live performance, Nana Adomako Nyamekye walked onto the stage at Black Star Square on August 30, 2025, to sing at the one-week observation for the late Daddy Lumba.

Dressed in black, he performed his signature hit before pausing to console Akosua Serwaa, Lumba’s first wife, telling her he would look after her in her late husband’s place.

Nana Adomako Nyamekye, also known as Nana Kwame Adomako Nyamekye, is a Ghanaian highlife musician best known for his hit song “Adwoa Pinamang.” A former member of the Ghana Armed Forces, he has described himself as a mentor figure to the late highlife star Daddy Lumba.

Profile

Early Life and Military Background

According to his own account, given in an interview on ANDY D TV’s “The Hour Show” and reported by AtinkaOnline, Nana Adomako Nyamekye served in the Ghana Armed Forces as lead singer of the Black Bearers Band, attached to the Recce Regiment.

He has said that ahead of Jerry John Rawlings’s 31 December 1981 coup, fellow soldiers he knew from his platoon approached him and asked him to shoot President Hilla Limann and Vice President Joseph W. S. de-Graft Johnson at an event where his band was booked to perform, saying “the boys used by Rawlings to stage the coup were my platoon mates.”

This account comes from Nana Adomako Nyamekye’s own retelling of events from more than four decades ago and has not been independently corroborated by other sources reviewed for this article.

Highlife Music Career

Nana Adomako Nyamekye built a recording career in Ghanaian highlife music, releasing a catalogue of songs that includes “Adwoa Pinamang,” “Kanea Maye,” “Dea Oni Awuo,” “Obra Twa Owuo,” “Menewo Ni Asem,” and “Afe Bi Ye San,” among others.

A compilation of his early work, released in 2000 under the title The Original Old Hits Of Nana Adomako Nyamekye, collected 10 songs from his catalogue. He largely stepped back from live performing for close to 20 years before his return to the stage in 2025.

Relationship With Daddy Lumba

Nana Adomako Nyamekye has described himself as a mentor, or godfather, to Charles Kwadwo Fosu, better known as Daddy Lumba, who died on 26 July 2025.

At Lumba’s one-week observation at Black Star Square on 30 August 2025, Nana Adomako Nyamekye performed to a crowd that included the singer’s family, pausing his set to comfort Akosua Serwaa, Lumba’s first wife.

According to GhanaWeb, he told her, “My nephew told me he was leaving you in my care.” He went on to perform “Obaatan Pa” (Baatan Pa) alongside singer KK Fosu.

Nana Adomako Nyamekye later spoke publicly about a legal dispute among Daddy Lumba’s family members over funeral arrangements, which was resolved when a Ghanaian court ruled in favour of the family member with authority to plan the funeral.

In an interview with Gossips24TV reported by YEN.com.gh, he said he had experienced repeated dreams about Lumba since his death and said he hoped for a resolution in his protégé’s family’s favour; his remarks drew mixed reactions from the Ghanaian public on social media.

Selected Discography

Sources

• GhanaWeb — Watch Nana Adomako Nyamekye’s Soul-Touching Performance at Daddy Lumba’s Memorial
• YEN.com.gh — Daddy Lumba Funeral Dispute: Godfather Adomako Nyamekye Recounts Strange Dreams About Late Singer
• AtinkaOnline — Video: I Was Tasked to Shoot Limann, Veep on the Dance Floor – Adomako Nyamekye
• Apple Music — Nana Adomako Nyamekye
• Apple Music — The Original Old Hits Of Nana Adomako Nyamekye
• Wikipedia — Daddy Lumba

Zeez

Zeez is the editor and founder of BioOrbit, where he researches and writes biographies of public figures from Nigeria and around the world. With 5 years of experience writing about news, entertainment, sports and politics, Zeez focuses on verified facts, clear sourcing and regular updates. Found an error? Report a correction.