The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology campus in Kumasi has effective today, September 3 been declared a security zone, following intelligence suggesting possible disturbances.
Some alumni of the University, according to the Ashanti Regional Security Council (REGSEC), are said to be instigating their members and some students to engage in acts “that will disturb academic work and peace on campus”.
The decision is believed to have been triggered by a warning issued by some ‘Concerned Katangees’ over the conversion of the all-male University Hall into a mixed hall of residence.
The group on August 26 claimed KNUST was sitting “on a time bomb” as authorities and stakeholders have failed to resolve the issues surrounding the conversion of the all-male hall to a mixed one.
According to them, though they have used all necessary procedures and legal processes, “we can unequivocally put it across that, most of the important stakeholders we appealed to have done nothing to ensure that the case is settled amicably, as ladies have been assigned to the University Hall this year again”.
The group thus warned that it will not rest until the University Hall is reversed back to its original status as an all-male hall of residence.
Strict enforcement
But the REGSEC has advised the public to observe the directive which will be in force until further notice, warning that breaches of it will attract what it termed as “maximum legal security penalty”.
It directed persons or groups with grievances against KNUST to make a case or report it to the appropriate authorities for redress or necessary action.
“It should be noted that anybody who directly or indirectly engages in activities that may disturb the peace on the KNUST campus shall be sternly dealt with in accordance with the law,” the statement signed by the REGSEC chairman Simon Osei-Mensah warned.
It has thus asked parents and guidance to caution their children and wards to abide by the university regulations and refrain from acts that may contravene the Public Order Act.
In October 2018, students of KNUST, led by the Students Representative Council, embarked on a demonstration which later turned violent, leading to the destruction of property running into GHC 1.6 million.
Among the factors that led to the demonstration included conversion of single-sex halls, University Hall (Katanga) and Unity Hall (Conti) and Africa Hall into mixed halls.
Some students also claimed they were being brutalized by the University’s internal security, a move they said triggered the demonstration.
By Stephen Kwabena Effah|3news.com|Ghana