John Dumelo
Born	(1984-02-03) 3 February 1984 (age 40)
Alma mater	Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Occupation(s)	Actor, politician
Years active	1991–present
Political party	National Democratic Congress
Spouse	Gifty Mawunya Nkornu
Children	2
Awards	2011 Afro Australian Movies and Music Awards 2017 Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) Ghanaian movie awards 2017 Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO)

John Dumelo (born 3 February 1984) is a Ghanaian actor and politician.^[1][2][3][4] On 1 April 2014, he emerged as the first Ghanaian to hit a million likes on Facebook.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10]} His parents are Mr. John Dumelo, who was a civil engineer, and Mrs. Antoinette Dumelo, a customs officer.^[11][10]

Early life and education

Dumelo was born in Ghana and had his basic education at Christ the King School in Accra.^[12][4][13]

He attended Achimota School acd was part of the Drama Club and also won the Fliers Guy in Mo-TOWN prize and further studied Civil Engineering^[14] at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.^[15] He contested in "Mr Universityand " won at KNUST. Later, he enrolled in GIMPA's School of Public Service and Governance.^[14] He started acting in the early 1990s in a 1992 movie called Baby Thief while he was attending Christ the King School and was paid 20 thousand old Ghana Cedis (currently 2 Ghana Cedis) at age 7 years.^[16][11]

Business ventures

Aside being an actor of international recognition, Dumelo is an entrepreneur.^[17] He launched his clothing line (J.Melo) in 2012.^{[18][19][20][21]} The actor is also known to be involved in both crop and animal farming.^{[22][23][24][25][26][27][28]}

Engagement in politics

During the National Democratic Congress (Ghana) NDC Party's Campaign In 2016, Dumelo was one of the most influential and outstanding celebrities who were seen campaigning for the NDC Government. Rumours have spread that, as an appreciation for his engagement and patriotism to the Party, he was called and appointed by the former president of Ghana H.E John Dramani Mahama, to serve his Party as a Director of Operations for pro-NDC youth group for the National Democratic Congress (NDC).^{[29][30][31][32]}

On 19 July 2019, Dumelo picked up a nomination form to contest in the NDC primaries as a parliamentary candidate .^[33][34] On 24 August 2019, he won the NDC parliamentary primaries to represent the NDC in Ayawaso West Wougon Constituency in the 2020 General Elections.^{[35][36][37][38][39][40]} He successfully launched his campaign manifesto for the 2020 Election on Sunday, 18 October 2020, promising to commit half of his salary to youth development in the constituency if voted for.^[41][42] On 7 December 2020, John Dumelo lost the parliamentary elections to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) incumbent Lydia Alhassan for the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency.^{[43][44][45][46][47]}

Personal life

John Dumelo is married to Gifty Mawunya Nkornu.^[48][49] He held a grand wedding at Royal Senchi Resort in Akosombo.^[50][51] The couple's first child was born on 16 October 2018.^{[52][53][54][55]} He is named John Dumelo Jnr., after his father.^[56] Their second child, a female, by the name Mali Dumelo, was born on 10 June 2022.^[57][58]

He recently shared the news of his mother's death, which occurred on 15 August 2023.^[59][60][61]

NSMQ prediction

In October 2023, Dumelo pledged he would trek "backward barefoot from the UG main gate to Presec main gate" if Presec-Legon wins the National Science and Maths Quiz.^[62] He completed the walk after Presec-Legon won.^[63][64]

Filmography

He has acted in several films, including:^[65]

Accolades

Honor

In January 2023, he was honored by the University of Ghana for his philanthropic gestures to their students.^{[82][83][84][85]}