More industry players continue to add their voices to the violence that occurred at Saturday night’s Vodafone Ghana Music Awards. The latest is the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) and the Arts and Tourism Writers Association of Ghana (ATWAG).

MUSIGA CONDEMNS SHAMEFUL BEHAVIOUR AT VGMA BY  SHATA WALE AND STONEBWOY

The Musicians Union of Ghana wishes to condemn in the strongest terms the unwarranted, irresponsible and shameful incidence which occurred at the 20th Anniversary edition of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards at the Accra International Conference Center on Saturday, 19th May 2019.

Those shameful acts  of violence did not only cause a halt in the program but also traumatized  patrons and subsequently painted a very negative image of our country Ghana to the global community as over 40 countries on the  continent and the world at large were watching through television other social media platforms.

We urge the law enforcement agencies to act with dispatch in bringing actors in this very shameful episode to book to serve as deterrent to others now and in the future. We wish to state that no individual is above the law and that must be forcefully established as we can not entertain violence and wanton lawlessness.

We condemn the provocative act of Shatta Wale and his fans for aggressively storming the stage while Stonebwoy was receiving  his award and the equally unmeasured response by Stonebwoy for brandishing the gun. 

We would also like to advise musicians and  their handlers to be mindful of their behaviors at all times since they are role models for the society as a whole. Artistes should desist from unnecessary “beefs” and conflicts capable of bringing the industry to its knees and eroding all the gains we have made as a people. 

MUSIGA would like to apologize on behalf of the music industry and music lovers to fans and the public for the unprofessional behavior exhibited. We would like to reiterate that the Ghanaian music industry does not promote or approve this type of behavior. We are calling on all event organizers to ensure effective screening of  fans and performers at all events. We will work swiftly with artistes the organizers and law enforcement agencies to come to a decisive and deserving resolution.

As an industry we need to come together to do more to raise the image of our motherland Ghana. We need to be shining examples and model citizens so that the millions of fans and mentees will have proper examples of patriotism. It is only in uniting, holding each other’s hands, building bridges and helping one another that we conquer the world stage.

Once again we condemn in no uncertain terms the actions of the few miscreants whose actions should not be allowed fester.

Signed

 Bice Osei Kuffour   (President)          

ATWAG CONDEMNS SCUFFLE BETWEEN STONEBWOY AND SHATTA WALE AT VGMA 2019

The Arts and Tourism Writers Association of Ghana (ATWAG) condemns in no uncertain terms the incident that marred the 2019 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) at the premises of the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) in the early hours of Sunday, May 19, 2019.

A scuffle that happened between the respective teams of dancehall musicians Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale led to a commotion in the auditorium and the stoppage of the show for almost an hour. ATWAG considers the incident very unfortunate, inappropriate and a dent on the arts industry.

In as much as we support healthy competition in the music industry, we condemn acts that would generate unnecessary tension and could degenerate into violence. We wish to advise Charterhouse, organisers of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards, to put in place better measures to forestall future occurrences of such nature.

ATWAG also urges Charterhouse to cooperate with the security services to investigate the matter and mete out the right sanctions where need be.

As significant partners in the arts and tourism value chain, ATWAG believes that acts like this would hinder the progress made by the industry and also has the tendency to mar the name Ghana carries within the international community as a peaceful nation.

We urge Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale and their fans not to inflame the issues any further through their utterances, but to rather stay calm in these times.

Kwame Dadzie (PRO, ATWAG)