About five buses were used to bus some non-students to partake in the demonstration exercise organized by students of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) on Monday.
Assistant Registrar at KNUST’s Public Relations Office, James Kwasi Oberko, who made the claim on the Citi Breakfast Show said management of the school believes the protest was masterminded by some alumni of the Katanga Hall including people who he said are “highly placed in society.”
“We suspect the involvement of alumni and we suspect the involvement of some highly placed people in society. People from outside had a hand in what happened, it’s not just the students,” he said on Tuesday.
According to Oberko, the people in the five buses he alluded to were drawn from Accra and other places.
“If you speak to the security, they will tell you the intelligence they’ve picked. We are even hearing that about five buses of people were brought in for this intended demonstration and destruction on Monday. Some came from Accra. It was a direct attempt to destroy things on campus,” he added.
Some students of KNUST went on rampage on Monday destroying properties during a demonstration exercise which was supposed to be a peaceful one.
The demonstration was for the students register their displeasure over the arrest of some of their colleagues, some of whom were allegedly brutalized by internal security personnel.
Although the KNUST SRC said the protest would be a peaceful one, it turned out as a violent one, and over 20 of the students were subsequently arrested.
The Assistant Registrar on the Citi Breakfast Show said the school will be able to identify the non-students after the screening of the 20 people who were arrested.
“Thankfully, we’ve heard that the police have rounded up some of the demonstrators. The screening will prove those who are students and those who are not students because based on their names when we enter into the database, we will know those who are students and those who are not students,” he added.
The Ashanti Regional Security Council (REGSEC) closed KNUST down indefinitely in the wake of the students’ unrest which led to the destruction of public and private properties.
KNUST protest a necessary evil; we won’t pay for damages – SRC Executive
An executive of the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), believes Monday’s violent protest in the school was the only way to drum home their concerns.
According to the executive who spoke on condition of anonymity, no alternative action would have compelled the management to put an end to its abuse to students.
But speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, the executive said although the intended peaceful demonstration turned violent, the students had had enough of management’s insensitivity.
“For some time, management run the school without giving credence to students’ leadership. They disregard us in a way and we are just disgruntled. So what happened yesterday was a necessary evil. Let us admit that.”
The executive also absolved the students from any blame for the acts of vandalism adding that the student front will not bear any cost for the destruction.
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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citinewsroom.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin