Rex Omar and Creatives Defend ‘Detty December’ Amid Criticism from Speaker Bagbin

Rex Omar, the Coordinator for Blackstar Experience, has responded to recent criticism of the term ‘Detty December’ used to describe entertainment activities held during the Yuletide.

 

His comment comes on the back of a statement made by the Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin regarding negative connotations of ‘Detty December’.

 

While speaking during labour day event on May 1, 2025, the Speaker recounted an interaction he had with a lady in the United States who told him she was preparing to visit Ghana for “Detty December.”

 

“She said she was coming to attend Detty December. I said, ‘I’ve never heard of Detty December. What is Detty December? I was told it’s when people come into Ghana from all over the world, do whatever they want for free, and then go back. This is destroying our country,” Alban Bagbin said.

 

He added with the surge in substance abuse in Ghana, such terminologies should not be encouraged.

 

“No wonder ‘Red’ is now in Ghana. As leaders, we have not yet accepted Tramadol, and now they want us to accept Red. This is what is happening, and it’s destroying our country. We must all stand up and fight it,” he said.

 

“We cannot move from ‘Homecoming’ to ‘Year of Return’ and then desecrate this holy country with ‘Detty December.’ We must all stand up and fight it,” he emphasised.

 

He concluded by saying: “I’m giving notice. We’ll take this one up again and fight it to make sure Ghana remains the holy land that the Lord made for us.”

 

Reacting to the Speaker’s statement, Rex Omar clarified on Daybreak Hitz in an interview with Doreen Avio that Detty December does not mean lawlessness.

 

“He should bear with us. We are creatives, we are always creating, we’re changing languages to mean different things and all that, so it’s not D-I-R-T-Y, December is D-E-T-T-Y, it’s unrestricted celebration.

 

We have laws in this country, you can’t come here and do anything that is against the law, nobody will allow you to do that. If you go against the law, you’ll be arrested, the fact that we are celebrating our ‘Detty December’ doesn’t mean you can come here and do whatever you like, so whoever translated it to him that you can come to Ghana and do anything you like, it’s not true, that is not what Detty December means, it means unrestricted celebrations all over the place, come and enjoy yourself and go,” he noted.

 

“Detty December” founder responds

 

In an interview with Ghanaian brand consultant Bernard Keith’ Sokpe, popularly known as Mr. Meister, he also explained what the couched terminology really means.

 

“I don’t believe that, I think it is about enjoyment and it is completely away from what happens in December and it should not be associated with drugs… I think it is unfounded and we need to sit at the drawing board and find ways in which Detty December can promote the Black Star Experience,” he told GhanaWeb in an interview.

 

In the meantime the Blackstar Experience Secretariat has promised to roll out some initiatives to make this year’s December celebrations more exciting and impactful.