Arrest Yaa Pono – Maurice Ampaw

Private legal practitioner Mr Maurice Ampaw has called on the Ghana Police to arrest Ghanaian rapper and singer, Yaa Pono for advising some students of the University of Ghana, Legon to smoke weed – a criminal offence.

The lawyer made the comments on the Big Show on Class91.3FM on Saturday, 9 March.

Yaa Pono performed at the Pent Hall Week Celebration on the University of Ghana Campus on 2 March.

“You’re attending Legon and your mother is spending a lot of money. If you find it difficult to learn, smoke”, the rapper told the students.

However, Mr Ampaw said he will report the matter to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service for the arrest and interrogation of the Uptown Energy record label boss.

He told show host Nana Kwesi Asare that: “I will lead the charge to send the statement to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for Yaa Pono, immediately, to be arrested and interrogated because if you look at the comment or the statement made, he is inciting, supporting, aiding and abetting the youth to smoke weed, and we know that the use of weed or smoking of weed is a criminal offence, so, I think that we [should] bring the attention of the security agencies to take up the matter. It is a serious issue.”

He also stated that there will be a need to petition the authorities of the University of Ghana, to investigate the matter. “I think this tape should be played and we must send a petition to the university authorities, and, at the same time, the security agencies to take up the matter. Yaa Pono should be arrested by now. You don’t make this irresponsible statement which promotes criminalities and you will be sitting somewhere and enjoying.

“The organisers of the programme should be held responsible because if you come to campuses, you need to invite people who are responsible. Don’t come and invite people who will come and make statements that will embarrass the university as a whole.”

“You had the opportunity to address the students and you are telling them if they’ve failed to learn, they should go in and smoke weed. At the end of the day, what are you trying to tell the youth and the university? That smoking of weed is an alternative. Therefore, if they start to smoke, the university will be in trouble, lecturers will be in trouble and what happened in KNUST can happen, so, we should take it seriously.”