Vociferous private legal practitioner, Maurice Ampaw has described as harsh the treatment meted out to Reggae/dancehall artistes Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale over their brawl at the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) held recently.

According to him, the organisers and VGMA board should have summoned them to explain their actions before going ahead with its decision.

Charter House some few days after the brawl banned and stripped off awards that were given to the two artistes and asked to return them.

Lawyer Ampaw said the punishment was too harsh for one offence.

In an interview with UTV sighted by MyNewsGh.com, he opined, ‘You cannot just take a harsh decision on the two reggae/dancehall musicians without hearing their side of the story that was not fair. The VGMA Board should have summoned the two artistes before a disciplinary committee and explained to them the meaning of their actions and the punishment for that, and then allow them to explain their actions before taking a final decision on them. In its entirety, the sanction for both Shatta Wale and Stonebwoy was too much for one offence’.

He suggested that Charter House and the board could have waited for the final decision by the court before taking their decision fearing that it will be a big blow for the organisers if the court clears the two artistes of any wrong doing.

“What if the court clears them of all charges? That would be a big blow to the VGMA Board for rushing to take that decision. That means that you have ruined their brands and their music career. We need to come to an agreement among all parties before a final decision is made,” he underscored.

He stated that he would have personally sued Charter House if he was at the event that day asking how the gun pulled by Stonebwoy managed to get to the auditorium.

‘I would have personally sued Charterhouse for my safety if I had attended the event,” he pointed.



Stonebwoy is facing charges in court for displaying a firearm at a public place without permission and Shatta is also facing charges for disturbing public peace.

The two artistes are on a bail in the sum of GHC10,000 with one surety each.