Police Storm University of Ghana With Guns: Mount Heavy Presence To Quell Agitation By ‘Vandals’

• There is a heavy presence of heavily-armed police at the Commonwealth Hall following a demonstration by residents
• The residents of the hall, the Vandals, had been demonstrating against a decision by the University of Ghana to suspend two hall leaders
• The leaders were suspended following violent clashes between residents of the Commonwealth Hall and Mensah Sarbah Hall a week earlier
• The decision to send police officers brandishing AK 47 to the campus has been heavily criticised by some members of the public

Police on Tuesday deployed heavily armed officers to the University of Ghana's Commonwealth Hall after residents held a demonstration against the university's decision to suspend two hall leaders.

Hundreds of Commonwealth Hall residents, known as 'Vandals', sang, danced and brandished placards inside the hall to protest the suspension of the hall master and senior tutor on Tuesday, August 16, 2022.

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The hall master and senior tutor were suspended following violent clashes between the Vandals and residents of rival hall, Mensah Sarbah Hall, known popularly as the Vikings. A vehicle parked in front of the Mensah Sarbah Hall was torched and properties destroyed by a group of students suspected to be Vandals.

As the demonstration by the Vandals was going on, police officers, about 20 of them in riot gear and brandishing AK 47, arrived on the campus and headed straight to the Commonwealth Hall.

The deployment of the police stopped the 'charging'. However, police officers have since been stationed at the entrance of the popular hall.

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The deployment of the heavily armed police personnel to the Commonwealth Hall has been heavily criticised since videos hit the internet.

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Social change campaigner and leader of the strong pressure group FixTheCountry, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, has said it was unprofessional for the police to storm the campus with guns to stop unarmed students from protesting.

"For the umpteenth time, the Ghana Police Service have breached school premises carrying guns. The last time, they went to shoot at a high school of 14-17 year olds. None of these students were armed.

"The IGP went to the Islamic High School and danced around. Walked a mile like a man on a campaign tour. When he came back, they made an incident report to the Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Interior. The Committee found that the Police had lied to it in the report," he posted on Facebook.

The FixTheCountry Convener said guns should be the last resort in policing, not the first.

"And the fact that Vandals “are charging” inside their hall to express displeasure with a decision of University authorities; it makes absolutely zero sense in any democracy to send in heavily armed police officers," he added.

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University of Ghana: Vehicle Set On Fire As Two Rival Halls Clash

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported previously that following chaos that erupted on the University of Ghana campus between the two rival halls, a vehicle parked in front of one of the halls has been set ablaze.

The Twitter page of the university's Students Representative Council (SRC) posted a video of the burning vehicle on Friday, August 5, 2022, and disclosed that it is the outcome of a clash between students of the Commonwealth Hall and those at Mensah Sarbah Hall.

Reports indicate that police eventually arrived at the scene of the chaos to calm tempers.

Source: YEN.com.gh