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| Mzbel Vrs Tech Boys |
11/10/2005 |
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Mzbel Vrs Tech Boys
A REPORT PRODUCED by a Fact-Finding Committee, instituted by the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), to probe the circumstances under which Mzbel, a female musician, was sexually manhandled by sections of Tech boys, has come out with vivid account of what transpired.
The 13-page report, signed by the SRC public relations officer, Essel Charles Chess, and submitted to the vice-chancellor of the university, Prof. Kwesi Andam, through the Dean of Students, and other personalities, alleged that Mzbel was seen taking a box of ‘Don Garcia’ drink, before she left for stage to perform.
According the report, the artiste’s three young female co-dancers also shared another box of the same drink. Daily Guide brings to its cherished readers, unedited portions of the report. Please, read on.
From the material evidence that the committee was able to gather, as well as evidence given by onlookers and students who participated in the College of Art carnival on that fateful day, the committee established the following findings: During the musical performance and while on stage Mzbel was dressed in a white unzipped long-sleeved mini-jacket on a glittering pink bra, a pair of white ‘track’ trousers and a pair of white sneakers.
Her dancers were each in a red-checkered cap, white sleeve blouse and a red-checkered mini-skirt with white underwear and a white sneaker.
Mzbel performed three songs from her album. She also, performed some songs with Castro.
Occasionally, the crowd hurled some items to the stage. Most of the crowd in front had camera phones with which they videoed the underwear of the dancers. Also, some students got on and off the stage to either forcefully dance with Mzbel and her dancers, or touch the buttocks of the dancers. This warranted one the security men (Azumah Kusase) to get on stage to stop such acts.
Immediately after Mzbel’s performance and while on stage, her dancers turned their backs to the crowd and shook their buttocks.
Also Mzbel partly bared her breasts to the crowd.
Whereupon, the crowd cried, “one more” or “last one” to which Mzbel responded by barring again part of her breasts to the crowd. The crowd got more aggressive in their cries for “one more” or “last one “. Realising how time was far spent, the organisers attempted getting Mzbel and her dancers off stage (so another artiste could take his/her turn). But a faction of the crowd quickly rushed to block the entrance to the staircase.
In the ensuing commotion, some students climbed onto the stage to misbehave, forcefully dance with Mzbel and her dancers, touch or squeeze, the buttocks of the dancers, showcase a strip of condom to the crowd and strip, expose and showcase their buttocks to the crowd (aka Bi Wo To or BWT).
Upon blockage of the staircase, some of the organisers and some students try getting Mzbel off the state through the side.
Two people, one Romani Jean (student) AND Osei Richmond Asamoah, are to receive Mzbel as she jumps down from the stage. But, Mzbel hesitates to jump; a section of the crowd gathers where she intends to jump.
Mzbel dramatises an aside, possibly meaning, ‘I’ll sleep here tonight’. While all this was happening, one of the organisers (Shadrick Teddy Otoo) together with one executive of Art Society (Abdulai Baba) left the ground to lodge complaints at the security services unit.
Later, she sits at the edge of the stage to jump or be received off stage. But before she could jump, a section of the crowd rushes to the side of the state where she sits and holds her legs.
With the crowd holding or pulling Mzbel’s legs, some of the organisers, some student and the MC (Nii Mantse) also begin pulling Mzbel back onto the stage.
This results in a “tug-of-war” between those on stage and the crowd down stage. This “tug-of-war”, results in her trouser being pulled down to about mid-thigh level as told by a section of those on stage.
In the course of the struggle, Mzbel screams and yells. She also loses her mini-jacket; eyewitness claim so and videotapes show so.
Those on stage finally succeed in pulling her back onto the stage, and she lies there for a while sobbing.
A section of the crowd then gathered around the edge of the stage, and she lies there for a while.
Those on stage surround her whereupon she gets up, and hangs around Castro in an embracing manner. One student, who identified himself to be Oscar Oduro, gives his T-shirt to Mzbel who wears before leaving the stage.
Eventually, some of the organisers and some students on stage were able to get Mzbel off stage through the staircase into a waiting car (driven by one Richmond) which took her and her three dancers to the SMS Guesthouse.
Meanwhile, Mzbel has, in a telephone interview, on Tuesday, expressed disappointment that the five-member committee chaired by Bernard Adu-Gyamfi, SOCIOSO President, failed to contact her for her side, to cross-check facts. The committee’s findings aimed to establish contributory factors which led to the said incident, conduct interviews and ascertain what actually happened. It also, sought to identify persons involved in the alleged incident and to collate views from the general student populace on the said incident. According to the report, the organiser of the Art Society Week Street Carnival at the university’s Royal Parade Grounds, invited artistes including Praye, Mzbel and Castro.
In its concluding remarks, the committee pointed out that Mzbe1 was indeed manhandled and harassed on the night of the said incident by a section of the crowd due to the several nude gestures she and her three young female dancers put up.
According to the report, no persons or student directly involved in the stripping of Nana Akua Amoah could be identified.
However, the report identified three students, Alex Dapaah, Adusa Poku Aaron and Djokoto Theodore, who put up various acts of indiscipline and misbehaviour. “The committee found it difficult identifying some persons or students involved in similar acts.
Source:
Daily Guide
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