He once stood before the cameras, under the bright lights of Hollywood, sharing the screen with Idris Elba.
Millions watched him as Strika , the fierce child soldier in Beasts of No Nation ; a performance that took a young Ghanaian boy from the streets of Accra to the global stage.
But today, the cameras are telling a very different story.
No Hollywood set.
No red carpet.
No movie premiere.
Instead, there are curious eyes, a crowd, a footbridge at Kwashieman ,and a former child star at the centre of an allegation that has left many asking one haunting question:
How did Strika go from being watched on Netflix… to being watched by a crowd in Kwashieman?
That is the latest chapter in the story of Emmanuel Nii Adom Quaye — the young actor the world came to know as Strika.
And his story did not begin at that footbridge.
In 2015, Strika shot to international fame after starring in Cary Joji Fukunaga’s Beasts of No Nation, playing a child soldier alongside Abraham Attah and Idris Elba. The film was shot in Ghana and earned widespread critical acclaim, putting the two young Ghanaian actors on the international map.
But while Abraham Attah’s career continued to rise, Strika’s journey after the film took a much more difficult turn.
According to casting director Mawuko Kuadzi, Strika was an orphan with limited family support when the production team found him. After filming, efforts were made to keep him in school, but Kuadzi says Strika repeatedly ran away from school. Earlier reports also described him as being found on the streets, fuelling public concern about his welfare.
Then came the question of the money.
Kuadzi has said Strika and Abraham Attah each received 30,000 US dollars from the film. Because Strika was a minor, his money was reportedly placed in an account or trust in his name rather than handed directly to relatives, with arrangements intended to protect the funds until he could access them. Strika himself later said he had not received the money, while his management maintained that the funds had been secured for him.
Years later, the once-famous child star has continued to attract attention over his struggles, including reports of homelessness and difficulty finding stability after his brief moment in the international spotlight.
Now, Saturday, 29 August, 2026, another video put Strika back in the headlines.
The footage reportedly shows him at a footbridge in Kwashieman, where residents confronted him over allegations that he was dismantling metal parts of the structure, reportedly with the intention of selling them as scrap.
A police officer is said to have arrived and accompanied him for further investigations. However, the allegation has not been independently established, and the full circumstances remain unclear.
And perhaps that is what makes the story so difficult to ignore.
This is not simply about a footbridge in Kwashieman. It is about a young boy who once had the world watching him, a career that promised so much, and a life that has since raised difficult questions about child stardom, family support, money, education and what happens when the cameras stop rolling.
From starring in Hollywood to being stared at Kwashieman.
For Strika, the spotlight has never really gone away. It has only changed.
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Story by Chrispin Agyekum | univers.ug.edu.gh
Edited by Erica Odeenyin Odoom
