VGMA Brawl: Blame Event Organizers For Insecurity - Deputy Defence Minister
Deputy Defence Minister Major (rtd) Derrick Oduro has blamed the choatic scenes recorded between supporters of Shatta Wale and Stonebowy at this year’s Vodafone Ghana Music Awards [VGMA] on the part of the organizers, Charterhouse Ghana.
He believes their failure to provide "maximum security" at the venue, led to the unfortunate incident over the weekend.
What Happened?
There was near pandemonium at the 20th edition of the VGMAs when the "Kpoo K3k3" and "My Name" hitmaker Stonebwoy, pulled out a gun on stage as controversial Charles Nii Armah, known in showbiz circles as Shatta Wale and some of his SM followers, tried mounting the stage during an award presentation to Stonebwoy.
The melee nearly marred an otherwise splendid ceremony which celebrated 20 years of Ghanaian music by the Events powerhouse, Charter House. It forced organizers to skip the presentation of two more other awards ‘Most Popular Song Of The Year’ and ‘Artist Of The Year’.
The confusion happened when Stonebwoy was announced as the Reggae Dancehall Artiste of the Year.
Shatta Wale and his fans approached the podium to, allegedly congratulate Stonebwoy, but events turned chaotic resulting in a lot of pushing and shoving – a situation that prompted Stonebwoy to brandish a handgun.
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In the ensuing ruckus, some members of the audience who were pepper-sprayed, stormed the exit.
Charterhouse then had to halt proceedings for nearly forty-five minutes for tempers to cool down. Feed to DStv which broadcast the awards to over forty countries, was also momentarily suspended.
Who's To Be Blamed?
Reached for his comments on the ugly episode witnessed at the country's biggest music awards night, especially in the wake of recent reports of possible terror threats, the Deputy Defence Minister pulled no punches in laying blame squarely at the doorstep of the event organisers.
“We have to blame Charterhouse for all these. They did not provide maximum security at such a big event,” Major (rtd) Oduro said in an interview with Kwasi Aboagye on NEAT FM’s morning show ‘Ghana Montie’.
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