'We took care of Kiki Gyan even after he left Osibisa'

Teddy Osei, founding member of renowned Ghanaian group, Osibisa has denied rumors that the group abandoned one-time member Kiki Gyan.

Daughter of the late Kiki Gyan, Vanessa Gyan was quoted as saying that, the Osibisa band members abandoned her father in an interview with Razz newspaper last year.

She said “They betrayed him! If I’m your friend and I’m into some form of immorality and you watch me go on with it till I crush, that is a form of betrayal! Kiki wrote many songs when he was part of Osibisa but they never gave him credit for that. That was another betrayal.”

Teddy Osei, who refuted the reports said in an interview with Let’s Talk Entertainment (LTE) on JoyNews on MutiTV, the group took care of Kiki, who joined the band at age 18, until his death in 2004.

He revealed that the daughter of Kiki Gyan, didn’t know anything about her father at the time because she was young and living in the United States of America.

According to him, the Osibisa band brought up Kiki Gyan to the point that he became the best known pianist in the world.

“Trying to portray somebody based on what another person has told you is quite different from you knowing it directly and I don’t think she knew what happened.”

Teddy also revealed that the group helped Kiki Gyan and even bought a house for him in London at the age of 18. “During our time we bought a house for him, a young man of 18 years to have a house in England is no joke.”

He noted that Kiki became quite famous within a short period but that got into his head which eventually drove him into taking drugs.

Barely 16 years old when he joined Osibisa, Kiki was among the most talented keyboard players ever to break out of Africa onto the international music scene.

Kiki Gyan died on June 10, 2004 at home from illness associated with his drug abuse.