KNUST Management tell their side of the demonstration story

Last Friday, 11 KNUST students, including an alumnus of the university, were arrested and detained at the KNUST police station.

The students were reported to have been beaten and brutalised by the University’s security personnel before being handed to the Police.

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It was later revealed that the students’ arrest was as a result of them holding a vigil without permission.

Despite public condemnation, the school’s management justified the arrests, saying the students failed to abide by school laws and therefore left them with now choice than to invite the Police to deal with the situation.

The led to renewed tensions yesterday (Monday), with some students boycotting classes to stage a demonstration against the “brutalities” meted out to their colleagues.

However, what was meant to be a peaceful protest soon became messy, as students ransacked cars and other properties belonging to both teaching and non-teaching staff.

They also chased away the University’s security personnel and burnt the Dean of Students’ car in the cause of the demonstration.

It took the efforts of the military and some Police officers to restore order and, currently, a curfew has been imposed on the University premises.

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Having seen the majority of the public take the side of students, the KNUST management has now come out with its own version of the story.

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In a statement released on Monday, management said contrary to claims by the students, the school’s administration has “never” banned students from having their traditional “morale” sessions.

The statement said on Friday, at around 12:00 midnight “some Alunmi of University Hall organised an unauthorised morale session with threats of burning down the hall”.

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The school authorities said they indeed carried out the threats and went ahead to use petrol in burning down “five rooms occupied by females”.

The authorities said they had to call the fire service and the Police to help contain the situation.

The statement added that it was the petrol bombing by some students which led to a suspension of morale sessions on campus.

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It further stated that later that day, another set of students came around with their drums, but were stopped by the University security.

This, the management said, infuriated the students who resorted to attacking the security personnel.

The statement said “three KNUST security personnel were severely injured” in the process, which led to the arrest of the students involved in the violence.

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Meanwhile, the leadership of the University Hall has described the explanation from management as “lies”.

In a Facebook post, the wrote: “We debunk this with all the contempt it deserves. We're consulting with our lawyers & will issue an official statement soon. We entreat all media houses to contact us to ensure that this release from the @_KNUST_ admin is discussed in a factual manner. .”