‘We Have Not Sacked Afia Schwarzenegger’

Managers of Ghana’s most popular free-to-air television station, United Television (UTV), have denied sacking Valentina Nana Agyeiwaa, aka Afia Schwarzenegger, an actress and host of the popular ‘Kokooko’ television show.

The news that UTV has not sacked the popular presenter comes at a time some exclusive photos of her and some big names at the station are currently circulating.

The photos capture Afia in a pose with lawyer Tweneboah Koduah, host of UTV morning show, ‘Adekye Nsroma’; Maame yeboah Asiedu and Yaa Komena Antwi, both presenters at the station; and Fadda Dickson, Kennedy Osei and Michael Annan, all top management members of the station.

‘Kokooko’ has gone off air for about three months now and just when speculations went viral that the host, Valentina, had been sacked from UTV, she picked up a new job as host of the mid-morning show of Kasapa FM in Accra.

Valentina’s new appointment with the radio station coincided with her sudden absence from the UTV screens and sort of gave a seeming credibility to talks that she had been sacked from the station.

“Afia Schwarzenegger is still part of the UTV family. We have not sacked her and she continues to remain part of us.  Her programme, ‘Kokooko’, was taken off air for restricting [sic]. The show is on a temporal hold and would soon be brought back on TV,” a management source told News One.

Valentina, as host of ‘Kokooko’, ruffled the feathers of several notables in society, with some threatening court action while others sued the station.

‘Kokooko’ was a blend of current affairs, political satire and entertainment TV show. It generated a lot of heat and became very popular.

The host has a ‘love me, hate me’ personality. Though she has a lot of critics, she manages to attract a huge audience to watch the show.

She adopts a daring attitude and speaks her mind on topical issues already in the news and sometimes picks on popular persons who find themselves in the news.

Viewers have remained consistent in mounting pressure on UTV to resume airing the show but managers have not yielded to the growing pressure.

The station has also used its local movies to capture residents in the region, especially because most of the movies it shows are newly released movies, unlike the old ones shown by other stations.

Even its foreign movies are the newest on television, with some yet to reach African cinemas.

UTV has already started raising eyebrows and its unrivalled clarity has won the hearts of television audience across the country.

It is an HD station with state-of-the-art equipment and is from the stables of the Despite Group of Companies, proud operators of Neat FM, Peace FM, Okay FM, and Hello FM. It is located in the famous Ship House that houses Okay FM and Peace FM at Abeka Junction in Accra.