The Dean of Students Affairs at the University of Ghana, Professor Rosina Kyeremanten, has responded to allegations regarding the cancellation of Shatta Wale's performance at the Reunion Rave Artistes Night organised by the TF Hostel.
In an interview with Radio Univers, she told Campus Express that the organisers of the programme did not follow the right procedure while submitting their proposal for the event.
"It is not true there was approval for the artiste night (Reunion Rave) for TF. Normally, what happens is that if any event is going to be organized in any hall a request for approval is sent to my Office (Dean's Office) with an outline of the program they intend to organise. What they said they were going to do on Saturday was Karaoke Night and so we gave approval. As far as I am concerned there is a big difference between a Karaoke Night and Artiste Night," she noted.
According to the Dean, the authorities needed prior notice of the nature of the event to help in providing adequate security.
"The University has no issues with Shatta Wale. The University doesn't have anything to do with Shatta Wale. Limann Hall sent a letter requesting approval for their programs including Artist Night and I forwarded it to PRO VC because of the ban on public gatherings and the final approval comes from him. I didn't even know who was on the bill to perform until I later saw their flyers and it was Stonebwoy so I called the President (of the Hall) to assure me of the security. Their letter had to go to the Legon Police District Command and I also asked them to get extra security," Professor Rosina said.
She further noted that "when you are having an artiste night, it comes with a lot of implications: Security and others. So we need to ensure there is enough security and that is why you need approval from the University Authority. Mind you there is still a ban on students gathering so you cannot just get up and bring an artiste like Shatta Wale without the adequate and necessary arrangements being made."
Statement from the organisers
Wave Africa, the organisers of the Reunion Rave Artistes Night issued a statement to explain why Shatta Wale did not perform at the Reunion Rave Artiste Night slated for Saturday, June 8, 2024.
The programme organised in collaboration with TF Hostels, generated conversations on socials media after news broke that Shatta Wale was prevented from performing even though he had been billed for show.
According to a press release issued by the agency, they were contacted two months ago by the executives of Jean Topp Nelson Yankah Hall to provide an artiste and organise the event on their behalf.
"The 2 months-long deliberations were concluded and a formal contract was signed on Wednesday, 5th June, 2024," they write.
The statement further indicates that following the contract signing, the Wave Africa team proactively secured and signed a deal with Shatta Wale to perform on the night, and his promotional poster was subsequently released.
However, on Friday, 7th June, 2024, they saw an online communique from the Dean of Students' Office announcing the cancellation of the event.
"We contacted the hall executives, who were responsible for securing the venue as per the contract. They assured us that the issues with the Dean of Students office had been resolved.
Based on the assurances from the hall executives, our team proceeded with the event plans. Additional security measures were arranged with law enforcement agencies to ensure an incident free event," their press statement further indicates.
They explained that on Saturday, 8th June 2024, during their setup and sound check, the "Legon campus security interrupted, saying it's an 'order from above'."
They said a delegation from their team met with the Dean of Students and was informed that the event could proceed but without Shatta Wale's performance, so they adhered.
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