John Setor Dumelo

John Setor Dumelo is a Ghanaian actor, farmer and politician. One of the best-known faces of Ghanaian and Nigerian film since the 2000s, he won the Ayawaso West Wuogon seat in Accra for the National Democratic Congress in December 2024, at his second attempt, and was sworn in as Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture on 13 March 2025.

Early start

Dumelo was born in Accra on 3 February 1984 to John Dumelo, a civil engineer, and Antoinette Dumelo, a customs officer, and spent part of his childhood in Likpe Bala in the Oti Region. His acting career began absurdly early: in 1992, aged seven, he appeared in the film Baby Thief and was paid 20,000 old cedis.

He went to Christ the King School in Accra and Achimota School, where he was active in the drama club. He started civil engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology but did not finish, and later earned a first degree and a master's degree at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration.

Leading man

Dumelo became a leading man in the late 2000s, with films such as Hearts of Men and The Perfect Picture in 2009, and went on to more than 60 screen credits in Ghana and Nigeria. A Northern Affair (2014) was a high point: it won him Best Actor in a Leading Role at the Ghana Movie Awards and Best Actor for West Africa at FESPACO in 2017. He has kept acting while in politics, with roles in Blood Vessel (2023) and Hijack '93 (2024). In April 2014 he became the first Ghanaian to pass one million likes on Facebook.

Farmer and businessman

He launched a clothing line, J.Melo, in 2012, but his bigger business is farming. His crop and livestock operations employ around 400 people a year, and he promotes farming to young Ghanaians, including through the Bridge in Agriculture programme with the Mastercard Foundation. The Dumelo Foundation, set up in 2010, runs his charity work; in 2024 it paid the fees of Gabriel Selasie Doe, a visually impaired law student.

Politics

Dumelo joined NDC politics openly in 2016 as director of operations for a pro-NDC youth group. He won the party's primary for Ayawaso West Wuogon in 2019 but lost the 2020 election to the New Patriotic Party's Lydia Alhassan. He tried again in 2024 and took the seat, and President John Mahama then appointed him deputy to the Minister for Food and Agriculture.

Family

He is married to Gifty Mawunya Nkornu, a lawyer, and they have three children, born in 2018, 2022 and 2024. In October 2023 he walked barefoot and backwards in public to settle a bet over the National Science and Maths Quiz.