16 suspected hooligans who stormed UTV to stop live programme arrested by police
The suspects were at the television station claiming they were looking for musician Kwame A-Plus, to demand his removal from the programme for tearing up a letter said to be from the Communication wing of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
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Kwame A-Plus had tore the said letter apart on live television at last week's United Showbiz programme.
The said letter contained a complaint from the Communication Wing of the NPP, complaining about how panel members on the show were selected.
Kwame A-Plus who read the letter on live television last week, tore it apart , arguing it was needless to have written that letter to UTV since the entertainment show was not a political platform.
Besides, his argument was that, under the 1992 Constitution, the Communication wing of the NPP had no power to determine how media houses go about their work.
What happened on Saturday night?
An aggrieved group of people stormed the studios of United Showbiz on UTV interrupting the live telecast programme.
Just when the host, MzGee began her introduction to kick off the evening’s conversation, there seemed to be some commotion behind the scenes disrupting live production.
Few moments later, a group of agitated people stormed the studio while the show was live on air. The episode forced MzGee to halt her introduction with gospel artiste, Nicholas Omane Acheampong taking over with performances for almost two hours.
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Videos of what had happened on United Showbiz started trending on social media. While some commentators insinuated that the action was politically motivated, others strongly believed it was just a strategy adopted to make the United Showbiz trend.
For such critics, they argued that the station should have called in the Police since Tesano Police is just beside the television station.
While assuring viewers of her safety and that of other panelists, MzGee apologised to viewers explaining that the show had to be halted following the unexpected mayhem.
She further noted that United Showbiz had no political affiliation or interest to push the interest or undermine any political party.
MzGee said United Showbiz aimed at discussing relevant issues for the wellbeing of the creative industry and not for any political agenda.
“If there is a demonstration and we have our creatives being part of it to demand better living conditions, I don’t see why we can’t talk about it on the show. Besides, we also pay taxes so have every right just like any citizen to express our grievances about things that are not going right in the country,” she said.
The panelists, Kwame A Plus, Afia Adutwumwaa, Mr Logic and gospel singer Nicholas Omane Acheampong condemned the attack as a threat on their lives, with Mr Logic revealing that he was bundled under a table in the Control Room.
He noted that he only got out when he heard the people calling out A Plus to come and face them.
A Plus reacts
Interestingly, A Plus, who was a panelist on the show accused Ernest Owusu Bempah, the Communications Director of Ghana Gas of being the mastermind behind the hooliganism.
He threatened to face them squarely, stating that he wouldn’t be intimidated by anyone.
Police arrest
In a press statement, the Ghana Police Service disclosed that it had arrested 16 persons for invading UTV studios.
"Following the complaint from the Despite Media Group and Ministry of Information that certain people had invaded the studios of UTV this evening, the Police proceeded to the scene and arrested sixteen persons," the statement said.
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