KNUST Welcomes Court Ruling On Conti, Katanga Halls Conversion

The management of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has welcomed the ruling of an Ashanti Regional High Court which threw out an injunction application of some alumni of the school against the conversion of its all-male halls; Unity Hall also known as Conti and University Hall also known as Katanga Hall into mixed halls .

The University Relations Officer, Kwame Yeboah, who spoke to Eyewitness News on Friday following the court's decision said the University is relieved by the ruling.

“The ruling has been a relief to all of us,” he said.

There was heavy police presence at the premises of the court on Friday, August 24, 2018, when the court held proceedings.

Students and alumni from both halls had massed up at the court premises to witness the hearing of the case.

Justice Samuel Obeng Diawuo, who presided over the case explained that the applications came after the University had allocated accommodation to students who had admissions hence the case cannot be considered.

The Judge also explained that granting the request by the plaintiffs will cause inconvenience for fresh students who had already secured accommodation at the University.

Lead counsel of the Katanga Hall, Stephen Asante Bekoe in addressing journalists after the ruling, disagreed with court's explanations as reasons for quashing the case.

He hinted that they may proceed to the Supreme Court for a proper interpretation of the matter.

But Kwame Yeboah believes the court's decision will help the University achieve its aim of expanding access for female students on campus.

He said the school temporarily suspended processes to allocate rooms to freshers who reported to school earlier on Friday, but began allocating rooms in the halls in question to them following the court's ruling.

“As an institution we have always meant good for our students and everybody… We asked them to wait and when the ruling came, we allowed them to register and as I speak to you, some of them are in their rooms,” he said.

Confirming that the Ashanti Regional Police Command had deployed armed personnel to help beef up security on campus following the ruling, Kwame Yeboah said the decision to engage the Police was based on earlier threats to the school over the matter.

“The Police presence stems from the fact that when this issue started, there were a whole lot of threats and we felt that there was the need for us to be proactive to forestall any untoward situation. The security situation I'll say is okay.”

He however added that the University had internally beefed up its security by among other things installing CCTV cameras all over campus and in lecture halls as well.