WITH GROWING criticisms over the indecent assault by some students of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) on the hiplife musician, Mzbel, Daily Guide can reveal that four individuals been identified as having been involved in stripping the hiplife star naked, in Kumasi.
Sources close to the musician known in private life as Nana Akua Amoah, told Daily Guide that a video clip of the event gave out Mzbel?s attackers, during her recent show at KNUST, Kumasi.
At the show, dubbed: ?Fun City? organised by the students of the College of Art of the university, Mzbel, 25, was stripped naked by over-zealous students, who wanted more from her, after she had rendered her famous, ?I am 16 years? song. The crowd started pulling her until her trousers and panties got off, leaving her stark naked.
?I was so frightened, I thought I would die. I was screaming like a sheep to the slaughterhouse, until I could scream no longer, while I asked myself, ?is this how my life would end?, she related in an interview, after Daily Guide broke the news about her ordeal at the hands of the KNUST ?boys?.
Mzbel has threatened to file a lawsuit against the university for her ordeal on campus, during the show on October 1, 2005, even before the university finishes its own investigations into the indecent assault of the popular hiphop artiste. She has also set off to Kumasi today Monday, October 24, 2005, to go and lodge a formal complaint with the Kumasi Police about what happened to her during the Fun-City show at the KNUST a couple of weeks ago.
Daily Guide has learnt that there is uneasy calm on campus, following the revelation that some of the culprits have been given out by the video clip. The video clip cited by Daily Guide, shows the faces of some of the students in the embarrassing attack that rendered the musician naked, as she was horrified and screaming.
KNUST authorities have condemned the action of the students as investigations into the case continue.
According to the Registrar of the university, Mrs. Quarshie-Sam, KNUST she received the news about the indecent attack on the musician, with shock and dismay.
?The university condemns these acts of indiscipline, unreservedly, and expresses its deepest regrets to the performing artistes, and all those who may have suffered or been inconvenienced, as a result.?
The statement said the university had taken steps to address security problems on campus, to avoid future re-currence, as it reviews all guidelines for students? activities, in order to provide safeguards and ensure stringent observance.
The attack on Mzbel, has received wide condemnation from women groups, calling for a speedy investigation into the attack.
According to ABANTU For Development, a gender non-governmental organisation (NGO), the attack was a clear case of violence against women, which the organisation has been campaigning against.
A statement issued in Accra and signed by Dr. Rose Mensa-Kutin, Regional Programme Manager, ABANTU urged all national organisations and institutions to condemn the act, to demonstrate their commitment to addressing acts of violence and discriminatory practices against women.
ABANTU implored government to speed up the passage into law, of the Domestic Violence Bill, which is before Parliament, without amendments, which might compromise its spirit, intent and purpose, before the end of 2005. The Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) and the Ministry for Women and Children?s Affairs, also, added their voices to the assault on the musician, calling it a criminal act.
