BBC presenter Komla Dumor has died at his home in London, after suffering a
suspected heart attack.
At the age of 41, Dumor had the reputation of being one of Ghana’s top
journalists. He joined the BBC as a radio broadcaster in 2007 after attaining a BA
in Sociology and Psychology from the University of Ghana, a Masters in Public
Administration from Harvard University and winning the 2003 Ghana Journalist of
the Year award.
During his tenure at the BBC, Dumor hosted Network Africa for BBC World Service
radio, became the first host of Africa Business Report on BBC World News and
was a regular presenter of Focus on Africa.
His accolades include high-profile interviews with the likes of Bill Gates and Kofi
Annan, coverage of the 2010 World Cup as well as the wedding of Prince William
and Kate Middleton, and most recently, Nelson Mandela’s funeral.
Peter Horrocks, Director of BBC Global News said that Dumor would be greatly
missed by friends and colleagues across Africa and that he was “committed to
telling the story of Africa as it really is’.
New African magazine’s November 2013 list of 100 most influential Africans
described Dumor as someone who had “established himself as one of the
emerging African faces of global broadcasting’, and had “considerable influence
on how the continent is covered’.
Messages of shock and sadness from around the world continue to spread
across social networks as the tragic news of his passing reaches family, friends,
colleagues and fans.
