KNUST: Alumni community urges old student to withdraw injunction against VC

The Alumni community of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has called on the plaintiff, Kofi Clement Ohene Asare, to withdraw the injunction filed against the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Rita Akosua Dickson’s term extension.

The global president of the Alumni Association, Kwaku Agbesi, is thus requesting the plaintiff to channel his grievances to the leadership, the ultimate mouthpiece of the Alumni community.

The global president has stated that the Alumni Association is satisfied with the extension of Prof. Dickson’s term, indicating their commitment to support the University’s management in any decision that will promote the activities of the tertiary institution.

On June 20, 2024, KNUST formally declared the reappointment of Prof. (Mrs.) Dickson as Vice-Chancellor for an additional term.

During its 282nd routine meeting, the University Council approved the Committee’s proposal to prolong her term for another two years, starting from August 1, 2024, and ending on July 31, 2026.

Shortly after the decision, Kofi Clement Ohene Asare, the plaintiff who claims to be a graduate and an alumnus of the University, filed an injunction to halt the extension of Professor Akosua Dickson’s term as the university’s Vice-Chancellor, raising concerns that the required process was not duly followed.

Meanwhile, the Association has disowned Kofi Clement Ohene Asare. According to the global president of the KNUST Alumni Association, Kofi Clement Ohene is not a recognised member of the chapters of the association, nor is he a paid-up member of the association.

“We find this development very unfortunate and unnecessarily disruptive to the smooth running and progress of the University. No single alumnus holds the right to hold the University processes to a ransom, whilst there’s KNUST Alumni Association that remains the official mouthpiece of alumni in matters concerning the running of our dear University.”

“The said Clement is not a recognised member of KNUST Alumni Association, he is not a due paying member of the Association and we cannot stand for him. We have the view that the University Council has followed due process on the renewal of the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor and we as an Alumni Association stand behind the University Council and the management of the University. We need peace, peace is paramount.”

“We want to assure the management and the Council that we will support them in the fight against this case. We will call on Clement Kofi Ohene Asare to withdraw the case from court and bring any issue he has on the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor to the Association so that we can together with the University Council address any issue that he has.”