How KNUST Authorities Ignored One Man Protest Before Riots

Tieku Baah Mintah
Come for your stone.... A one-man protest at KNUST fell on deaf ears until deafening sound of rioting students caught national attention.

Harvey Baah Mintah, a student had picked and pitched at school events with a placard drawing attention to systematic oppression and demanding the Vice-Chancellor Prof Obiri Danso be removed.

The Vice-Chancellor known by the students as Kumasi Adolf Hitler had become a symbol of a culture of oppression, the students have said.

His placards read: ‘KNUST:The New Animal Farm’ ‘Four legs good, two legs bad’ and ‘students are living in fear’.

The protesting student affiliated with Continental Hall had also been calling for a students forum where concerns could be raised and addressed as he appeared to have scant regard for the capacity of SRC to represent student views.

Photos of his silent protest were posted on his social media accounts and shared.

The one-man protest continued on October 15 in the presence of former President Jerry John Rawlings who delivered the keynote address at the 2018 KNUST SRC organised TEKTALK event.

But the language of non-violent protest appears to have had limit impact beyond facebook likes.

Seething student issues at KNUST came to the fore after hardliners within the student movement went on a rampage destroying school properties and damaging cars.

Since the Monday incident, KNUST has had five consecutive days of national media attention. The campus is now a ghost town as it has been closed indefinitely.

The school’s governing council has been dissolved as government has not without controversy appointed an interim council.

The Vice-Chancellor is facing pressure to resign and has now made sweeping concessions to the students following negotiations with the SRC.

Harvey Baah Mintah is at home with more than 45,000 Ghanaian students at KNUST as the government and school authorities find an amicable solution to the conflict.

Following Monday’s protest, Mr. Mintah is being hailed by his colleagues as an unsung hero. A post on facebook wall read “ Tieku Baah Mintah, come for your stone’.