Ghanaian gospel musician and senior police officer, ACP Kofi Sarpong, has shared how his love for music started at the age of 12.

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In an interview on The Career Trail show on Joy Learning TV and Joy News, ACP Sarpong said he discovered his passion when he joined his church choir as a young boy.

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“I became a chorister at 12 and was a strong alto singer,” he recalled.

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Although his talent was clear early on, he said the chance to take music seriously and build a career only came later in life.

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After completing a peacekeeping mission in Sudan, a matron from the 37 Military Hospital who had met him during the assignment invited him to her church, which opened the door for him to pursue gospel music professionally.

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“One Christmas, we decided to host our senior officers during a peacekeeping mission in Sudan. When we returned, this woman, who was a matron at 37 Military Hospital called me one Sunday. I was already in church, but she asked me to come to theirs. They were having a harvest. As soon as I arrived, they introduced me and asked me to sing, which I did,” he narrated.

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ACP recounted that following his performance, a young man approached him with an offer to record him, but he declined, explaining he was then a Deputy Superintendent of Police with no intention of pursuing music professionally.

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“After singing, this young man approached me and asked if he could get few minutes of my time. In fact, I needed to go back to my church because I was on program. Then the young man said he wanted to record me. I told him I was a police officer and wasn’t ready for that,” he recounted.

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ACP Kofi Sarpong said the young man didn’t give up easily. In a new attempt, he sent a 70-year-old man to his office to plead on his behalf, but ACP Sarpong still refused the request.

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“I was in the office when an elderly man of about 70 years came to me to tell me that the young man had told him to come and plead on his behalf, so that he would oblige to his proposal. But I told the man, that would not be possible. I am a police offer and a commissioned one at that,” he explained.

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He continued that he even declined again during the young man's second visit, urging him to support others who were actively seeking producers.

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“I asked him why he wouldn’t help those who are carrying their demo CDs and looking for producers, instead of me. But he said, ‘Papa, you don’t know me, but I know you. I’ve seen you from afar, and I want the world to see what you have. So please give me a chance,” he said.

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After that encounter, ACP Kofi Sarpong chose to write a formal letter to the then-Inspector General of Police (IGP), asking for permission to pursue music, even though he wasn’t sure what the outcome would be.

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To his surprise, the IGP approved his request and gave him the go-ahead to follow his passion for music.

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“The IGP minuted the letter when I presented it to him. He then directed me to send it to the IGP Secretariat, which I did. I came back to my office. Within 20 to 30 minutes, she called that I should come. I met her at IGP’s corridor, she was holding the file. Then she said, IGP had a meeting with his members and approval had been given,” he disclosed.

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According to him, when he informed the young man that official approval had been granted, he visited his office that same evening with an organ, and also, accompanied by renowned musician, Akwaboah Jnr.

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“That evening, they came, ready to record. The first song we learnt was, ‘Ayeyi Ndwom’. It was written by Akwaboah Jnr,” he stated.

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The collaboration opened the door to the creation of an album, which included about four songs, one of which was written by Ghanaian musician OJ.

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“On that album, he gave about 4 songs. And there is another song on it that people love, ‘First Love’ OJ gave me that song,” he shared.

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He mentioned that the release of the album was met with great enthusiasm, especially as the public learned that the man behind the songs was a police officer.

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“When the song dropped, people were asking who was behind it and all that. In fact, one person who actually made it blossom was Former Deputy Minister for Tourism. Hon. Okraku Mantey. He is someone who doesn’t like piercing voices. So he was looking for the person, especially when he also came to find out the singer was a police officer,” he noted.

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ACP Kofi Sarpong expressed immense gratitude to the young man who introduced him to the music world and to Akwaboah Jnr. and OJ for their unwavering support.

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