We Were Only Defending Ourselves – Concerned Katangees

Concerned students of University Hall (Katanga) are debunking claims of instigating Thursday night’s clash on the campus of the Kwame Nkrumah University Science and Technology.

They claim to have acted in self-defense after some members of Unity Hall (Continental) attacked them during their ‘Zulu procession’.

In statement released a day after the incident, the Katangees said “we want to draw the attention of the school and the entire Ghanaian populace to the fact that whatever happened yesterday, no matter the intensity, was an attempt to defend ourselves from these uncouth people who do not care about values or tradition. We believe the report of the security personnel on duty yesterday would be enough to clear all doubts”.

The concerned Katangees are admonishing security personnel who escorted them in the procession to speak truth to events that sparked the clash.

They indicated their procession on the principal streets of the university was conducted with consent from security personnel, including the military and police with approved routes to ply.

“They should remember to speak truth about this matter which includes the fact that a certain group of hooligans who reported being members of the Unity Hall attacked us while we were embarking on a peaceful procession which was intended to show a beautiful tradition which depicts the strength and agility of a great African tribe,” the statement read.

The clash between the two traditional halls of the university has since left 12 persons injured and nine vehicles damaged.

It is believed attempts of students of Unity Hall to restrain colleagues of University Hall from using their frontage in the procession resulted in the disturbance.

The concerned residents and affiliates to the University Hall further added that “we would be saddened if this situation is turned into a witch-hunt as in previous events. Denying this truth means you deny us of a right to defend ourselves which is equal to oppression. Once again we apologise for being a part of the disturbance of public peace but would not coil in the face of any form of oppression that may arise from this incident”.