PRESS STATEMENT: INCIDENCE OF ASSAULT ON THE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS

January 16, 2024

PRESS STATEMENT: INCIDENCE OF ASSAULT ON THE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS

The Management of the University of Ghana has learned with concern that a young man was assaulted around the southern part of the University’s Legon campus. The attack was videoed and widely shared on social media.

Preliminary information from the University’s Security Services Unit uncovers the following:

• A young man dressed like a female was seen in the Okponglo area, seeking accommodation and was accommodated by some women in the area.
• During the night, his true identity was revealed, leading to physical assault by the women who accommodated him.
• A refuse collector, assuming the young man to be a woman, intervened and took him to a refuse collection site behind Dr. Hilla Limann Hall.
• Realising the true gender the following morning, the refuse collector also assaulted the young man, instructing him to leave the area.
• The Security Personnel were alerted by University of Ghana students to intervene.
• Some of the students who watched the scene took videos.
• The University Security Services Unit handed both the young man and the refuse collector (both of whom are not students of the University) over to the Legon Police for investigation.

The University of Ghana strongly denounces the assault and denigration perpetrated by the persons seen in the videos posted on social media on the victim, and strongly condemns such acts of lawlessness. The University of Ghana would like to affirm its commitment to the safety, dignity and inclusivity of all persons, as stated in its Statutes as follows:

42.(1) Without prejudice to the application of the national laws by the University, no member of the University shall:

     (e) engage in a course of vexatious conduct that is directed at one or more specific individuals, and

    (i) that is based on the race, ancestry, place of birth, origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, sex, sexual orientation, creed, age, marital status, family status, disability, receipt of public assistance or                  record of offences of that individual or those individuals.

Management takes its commitment to the enforcement of the rules and regulations governing the University seriously, and any member of the University community identified to be involved in this cruel incident will be appropriately sanctioned.

Management assures the public that the University will continue to work with the Ghana Police Service for a thorough investigation into the matter and to ensure the safety of all members of the University community as well as visitors to our campuses.

Dr. Elizier Ameyaw-Buronyah

DIRECTOR, PUBLIC AFFAIRS

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