Stonebwoy, Shatta Wale detained by police over VGMA brawl
DANCEHALL artistes, Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale are spending their Sunday night behind bars after being detained by the Accra Regional Police Command.
The two artistes were invited for questioning on Sunday afternoon by the Accra Regional Police Command after their supporters clashed at the 20th edition Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA), on Saturday, May 18 held at the Dome of the Accra International Conference Centre.
According to a reporter with the Graphic Communications Group Limited, Emelia Ennin-Abbey, Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale reported at the headquarters of the Command in the company of their managers.
Organisers of the VGMA, Charterhouse were also invited by the police and a representative from the outfit showed up.
After their statements were taken, the Charterhouse official was allowed to leave but Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale were detained and will remain in police custody.
Emelia Ennin-Abbey, who spoke with the Director of Operations at the Greater Accra Regional Police Command, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Kwasi Ofori, said the two were invited for public disorder.
The brawl started when Shatta Wale and his entourage tried to go up on the stage when Stonebwoy was being presented with his award for Reggae/Dancehall Artiste of the Year, but were prevented by the Top Skanka artiste's team.
The fight led to Stonebwoy pulling a gun on the stage to the dismay of patrons in the auditorium and at home. There are reports that he was handed the gun by a member of his security team.
Although Shatta Wale has said on social media that he merely wanted to go and congratulate Stonebwoy and also promote unity, his critics believe he wanted to take the shine off his rival's moment.
The incident, which disrupted proceedings for around 30 minutes, has been condemned by Ghanaians from all walks of life.
Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale have a long-standing rivalry, fueled by their respective fan armies, over who is the best in the Reggar/Dancehall field.
Concerns have been raised over the tensions the rivalry has been creating with stakeholders fearing it could boil over into something very serious and Saturday night's incident seems to give credence to those concerns.