Former Vandals in near-scuffle with police at entrance of Commonwealth hall

There was a near-scuffle at the Commonwealth Hall of the University of Ghana when some former residents clashed with heavily-armed policemen at the entrance of the Hall.

The students, who had converged at the entrance of the residential hall, singing and chanting loud songs, were being prevented from gaining access to the main precincts of the Hall.

The situation had come about after the management of the university called for reinforcement from the police, as it had received reports that messages had been shared on social media, instructing all continuing students of the hall to pack their belongings and report at the entrance on the basis of a court order.

Although it is unclear what may have prompted the return of the students to the entrance of the hall, and the heavily-packed policemen, a video shared by universnews on Instagram showed the students make unsuccessful attempts to break through the body of policemen.

It will be recalled that the management of the university had to call for police reinforcement after it got wind of information spreading on social media that the former students of the hall should gather at the entrance with their belongings.

The said reports were on the grounds that a court had ordered that they be restored to the hall.

The university is yet to provide any response to what may have prompted this new development.

Backgroung

In an earlier report published by GhanaWeb in January 2023, the management of the university issued a stern warning to some continuing students of Commonwealth Hall who were reportedly planning to invade the premises of the hall on reopening day.

A press statement signed by the Registrar cautioned the said student to refrain from such action, cautioning that the High Court injunction had not directed or authorized any students to converge at the hall.

“Management of the university has received reports of messages or statements purporting to have been shared on various virtual platforms of the Old Vandals Association (OVA) and also by students purporting to be residents of Commonwealth Hall.

“The statements direct continuing students of commonwealth hall to “pack all their belongings and report at the entrance of commonwealth hall” on the basis of an order of injunction issued by the High Court against a so-called residential policy of the University dated 28th October 2022.

“The university wishes to state that the order of temporary injunction issued by the High Court on 6th January 2023 to last for only ten (10) days did not direct and or authorize students to “pack their belongings and report at the entrance of commonwealth hall,” Part of the statement read.

The statements added that, as of January 6, 2023, when a court injunction was placed on the management, almost 86% of the students who had been the hall's legitimate residents during the 2021–2022 academic year including four of the eight students who had obtained the court order, had formally accepted the allocation of rooms in other halls.

The university wishes to place on record that, by 6th January 2023 when the order of injunction was secured, almost 86% of students who were legally resident in Commonwealth Hall in the 2021/2022 academic year, including four (4) of the eight (8) students who secured the order of injunction against the University had formally accepted allocation to other Halls of residence in the University," the statement added.

An Accra High Court recently placed an interlocutory injunction on the residential policy decision by the management of the University.

This was after some frustrated students of the Commonwealth Hall on Friday, January 6, 2023, filed a lawsuit against the university for directing residing students to seek accommodation outside the campus.

The university’s administration issued an order intending to remove all continuing male students from the halls due to a violent confrontation that occurred on August 15, 2022, between Commonwealth and a rival hall.

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