There will be strict security at this year’s VGMA – Charter House

Organisers of Ghana’s biggest Music Award, Charter House, has assured the general public of strict security measure at this year’s Vodafone Ghana Music Awards.

This new directive according to the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Theresa Ayoade, is to avert a repeat of last year’s altercation that ensued between dancehall acts Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale.

“Last year, we used the hand-held scanners. We did not use the full-body scanners. But now all the rest are going to be rolled out. We’re going to have bag scanners, body scanners, we will scan you till you are tired”

“Now we are all of a heightened sense of security and we feel we should do that. It’s good for all of us. We need to ensure the safety of all our patrons. So subsequently if you come for the event, we ask you to remove your shoes, open your bands, stretch your arms, you know we’ll do all of that so bear with us,” Theresa added.

Last year’s event was halted for over 20 minutes when Dancehall artiste, Shatta Wale mounted the stage while his arch-rival Stonebwoy was on the podium receiving the Reggae/Dancehall Artiste of the Year award.

In their bid to get Shatta Wale and his fans off the stage, a scuffle ensued between the two camps and Stonebwoy pulled a gun.

This incident brought to the fore the dangers organizer had exposed their patrons, Diplomats and other high profiled individuals who attended the event and the kind of security measures that were taken before patrons were allowed into the auditorium.

The Board of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards penalized Shatta Wale and Stonebwoy by stripping them off the awards they won on the night and also placing an indefinite ban on them.

Two subsequently held a press conference to announce that they had buried their differences but the case is still in court.

Meanwhile, nominations for this year’s Vodafone Ghana Music Awards are opened till January 31, 2020.