Shoemaker remanded for joining KNUST riot

A Magistrate Court in the Asokore-Manpong Municipality of the Ashanti region has remanded a 21-year-old Akwasi Yeaboa Abel into prison custody for his involvement in the violent protest that rocked the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

According to a report sighted by YEN.com.gh on Starrfmonline.com, Yeboah who is not a student of the University was picked by the police during the Students Representative Council-led demonstration against student brutality on the University’s campus on October

School authorities claimed that the demonstration led to the destruction of properties estimated around GH¢1.7 million including vehicles, CCTV cameras, laptops, computers, among others.

Police search on Yeboah, a shoemaker based in Asafo, a suburb of Kumasi, dressed in female artificial hair after his arrest, retrieved a knife from his pocket.

Deputy Ashanti Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Corporal Prince Dogbatse, speaking in an interview with Ultimate FM said Yeboah has officially been charged with two different offenses including rioting with a weapon and carrying an offensive weapon after he confessed not being a student of KNUST.

The suspect who was remanded into prison custody by the Asokore-Mampong Magistrate Court is expected to reappear before the court on November 12.

Meanwhile, the 21 students who were arrested in connection to the demonstration have been granted bail to cooperate with police investigation without interference. The suspects, according to sources, were hired by faceless politicians to cause havoc in the supposed peaceful demonstration.

The student body decided to boycott classes on Monday, October 22, 2018 as a way of registering their displeasure with happenings on campus.

However, Vice Chancellor of the school Professor Kwasi Obiri Danso, in a broadcast text message to all students, called on them to disregard the decision to boycott their lectures.

Students of the school however defied the warning and went on rampage in the school leading to the destruction of property and later the indefinite closure until matters were resolved.