KNUST Saga: Vice Chancellor Is Guilty – NYA

The CEO of the National Youth Authority, Emmanuel Sin-yet Asigri, has blamed the Vice-Chancellor of KNUST, Professor Kwasi Obiri-Danso for the recent brutalities meted out to some students and the subsequent demonstration, riots, and vandalism that followed on Monday, 22 October.

“To say the least, the tacit endorsement of these shocking and barbaric acts by authorities of the university is very disgraceful, shameful and an affront to Ghana’s constitutional order and further leaves an indelible scary on Ghana’s democratic dispensation.

In recent times KNUST under the leadership of the current Vice Chancellor has been in the news for various negative reasons. As the government agency responsible for youth development in this country we find the crude means adopted by leadership of the University in resolving student agitations such as the use of sheer force and acts of brutality reminiscent of the era of military rule.

This is criminal in nature and an affront to Ghana’s democracy. We are not in a banana republic to allow the university security to take the law into their own hands and treat students as if they are second-class animals.” – he said emphatically.

The comment from the National Youth Authority comes after thousands of aggrieved students took part in what was meant to be a peaceful demonstration but which turned chaotic.

The students were demonstrating against the university authorities for what they described as unfair treatment and the abuse of their colleagues by some security personnel. The confusion began after the arrest of some students.

The students, 10 in number with one alumnus, were arrested by the police on Friday, 19 October 2018, for holding a vigil on campus without authorization. The situation caused some angry parents to storm the KNUST police station to demand the release of their children. The students were later released but the university said it will not rest on the matter.

However, the National Youth Authority calls on all peace-loving Ghanaians including state security agencies to hold the university administration headed by Vice-Chancellor Professor Kwasi Obiri-Danso, under whose watch this is happening, accountable, and demand that he acts responsibly and take the necessary actions in a timely manner, to avert any further brutalities and confusion that will only mar the peace on the KNUST campus.

While the Youth Authority condemns the acts of brutality being visited on students by the university security, we call on the students to exercise restraint in their reactions to the barbaric attacks. As intellectuals, they must at every point in time adopt peaceful means in defending their constitutional rights and freedoms.