Salaga Senior High School incident – 28 students including 3 convicts recommended for indefinite suspension

A fifteen-member committee, comprising all major stakeholders of the Salaga Senior High School in the East Gonja Municipality of the Savannah Region, has recommended to the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) to indefinitely suspend some 28 students internally for misconduct.

The incident took place on campus during a routine entertainment event on February 8 when two groups of students from Kpembe and Salaga towns got involved in a confrontation.

One of the students, Hardi Hamza, initially retreated only to return later with a group of individuals, resulting in a shooting and injuries. The accused were arrested and brought before the Salaga Magistrate Court where they were tried and sentenced to a non-custodial sentence of 100 penalty units each, which is equivalent to GH¢1,200 or, in default, serve a 6-month imprisonment.

Latest development emerging from the school on the incident is that out of the twenty-eight students who took part in the incident, only twenty students reported to school on the day of the arrest and were arrested, while the other eight refused to come to turn themselves in.

It would be recalled that out of the first twenty students arrested by the police, three were left to go, and later, an additional 17 students leaving the three who were sent to court and convicted on their own plea of guilt.

The affected students include three students from SHS 1, eight from SHS 2 and seventeen from SHS 3.

The three convicts, Hardi Hamza, alias Mad Lion, Nuru Ibrahim, also known as Ibi and Abubakari Zaidu, also known as Macharjia, who were sentenced to a non-custodial sentence by the Salaga Magistrate’s Court by His Worship Edward Essel, have been recommended for indefinite suspension.

The other twenty-five are to face an internal suspension with hard labour on campus.

Myjoyonline sources in town indicates that the committee was jointly set up by the management of Salaga Senior High School and the East Gonja Municipal Education

They include representatives from Kpembe Paramount Chief Palace, Old students association, the Municipal assembly, and the Parents Teachers Association (PTA).

The rest are from the Municipal Education Service directorate, tutors and the students’ representative Council SRC), among others.

Myjoyonline can confirm that all twenty-eight letters are ready waiting for the green light from the Director General of Education Service for action to be taken.

Further checks uncovered that one of the students convicted, Hardi Hamza, who admitted in court to holding the gun, two years ago, initiated a similar move on campus but was prevented from shooting.

According to our sources on campus, there was a debate among a group of students of which Hardi was part, and one of them bragged that no gun nor weapon would harm his body, hence Hardi Hamza rushed home and brought a gun loaded to try it on the student.

But as they were on their way to the bush for the trial test, someone alerted the school, and they were stopped and Hardi Hamza was suspended indefinitely, but his parents stepped in and revoked his suspension before his recent case.