Otumfuo inaugurates committee to probe KNUST violence

Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST ) Otumfuo Osei Tutu ii , has inaugurated a three-member committee to probe the violence that occurred in October last year.

There was a misunderstanding between the students and school authorities which resulted in the students vandalizing some government properties which subsequently led to the closure of the school.

The committee is chaired by retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Rose Constance Owusu. Other members are Very Rev. Mrs. Ama Afo Blay, former Director General of the Ghana Education Service, and Mr. David Adu Osei, Ashanti Regional Director of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), with Mr. Kofi Owusu, Registrar of Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs as secretary.

There are expected to investigate all the circumstances that led to the disturbances and also make recommendations to forestall a future recurrence. However, the committee has not been given any timeline. 

Background
Students of the university went on the rampage upon the insistence of University Council to convert remaining males-only halls, Katanga and Unity, into unisex halls. The students had also alleged systematic maltreatment by university authorities. They destroyed public and private property and clashed with security operatives.

In the ensuing confusion, the council was dissolved, leading to a bitter stalemate between campus labour unions and government.