Emmanuel Andrews Sammini, the Ghanaian Reggae and Dance hall artiste with the stage name “Samini”, on Wednesday disturbed the serene academic atmosphere of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) with land guards, motor bikers, among others during a Students’ Representative Council (SRC) election at the Green Hill Campus in Achimota.
They were seen engaging in daylight thuggery on behalf of the influential musician. It is unclear, what sparked the attack, but most of the students who suffered the violence, had pulled out their phones to capture the unruly behaviour of Samini’s “army” at the polling center and incurred their wrath.
Some lecturers and administrators of the institution, who tried to enforce discipline during the exercise, were assaulted by the thugs deployed by the musician, who is reading Business Administration, but hardly spends time on campus as a student.
Videos of the physical attacks and scuffles, have been in circulation since Wednesday evening, particularly among the GIMPA students body.
The heavy presence of police officers with vehicles and motorbikes, did not deter the thugs. The police appeared to have been there on the request of the musician, hence were seen doing nothing to prevent the attacks or even tried to arrest anyone.
At the end of the ballot, the Dancehall artiste, emerged victorious in a contest which recorded one of the lowest turnouts in the GIMPA’s SRC elections. It lacked enthusiasm from the beginning. Besides most of the students, who are non-residential, had finished with their end of second semester exams, and were not on campus to participate in the elections.
The motor bikers and land guards, were later seen in the police vehicles and a dispatch rider in a convoy driving around the campus tooting their horns in great expression of joy, with the campus security, having a hard time controlling them.
Some lecturers, who were surprised at the misconduct of Samini and his thugs, were heard suggesting that the election must be annulled.
Ahead of the polls, one of the disqualified SRC Presidential aspirants from the Law Faculty, Fred Amese, secured an interlocutory injunction on Wednesday June 22, 2022, prohibiting the conduct of the election on the same day, but the organisers of the GIMPA SRC elections, continued with the election.
The musician polled 307 votes to win the election, as against the 211 votes for his contender, Theophilus Quartey.
As things stand, the dancehall Artiste, Samini, who promised change, has been elected as the 2022/2023 SRC President with one Mabel Mensah as his Vice-president, however, student are wondering how he will be able to lead the students to have a meaningful impact.
