How IGP stopped Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale from being booked for Ghana DJ awards together

It has emerged that the Inspector General of Police, Dr George Akuffo Dampare intervened to stop two of Ghana’s reigning dancehall artistes, Charles Nii Armah Mensah alias Shatta Wale and Livingstone Satekla alias Stonebwoy from being booked together to perform at the recently held Ghanan DJ’s Award.

The 11th edition of the Guinness Ghana DJ Awards scheme was held on Saturday, November 25, 2023, with only Shatta Wale performing as the headline act.

However,according to multiple reports and industry insider accounts, the decision to have only one of the two artistes headline the event was an option given to the organisers by the Ghana Police Service even though both acts were advertised.

This has been corroborated by Shatta Wale’s manager, Sammy Baah ‘Flex’.

“After the show i got the opportunity to sit with Mercury Quaye who is the CEO of Ghana DJ Awards and I asked him that, my DJ, DJ Wobete told me that team Stonebwoy would be coming so what happened? And what he told me is exactly what I am about to say, I have my worries about what he told me and that is why I am even talking about it…

“He said that it was an order from above, an order from above in the area of security and I am talking about the Ghana Police Service security I mean. It was an order from above that as an organiser he received a call from top authorities in Ghana Police Service telling him that he cannot put Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale on a show without their approval here in Ghana and that if he wanted to do that, he should have consulted Ghana Police for advice, for security tips, for the ways around it before he could do that. Because of that, they gave him an option to choose one of the two artists,” he recounted.

According to Sammy Baah’s account Mercury Quaye was threatened by the police with an arrest if he were to go ahead and book the two acts for the event without their approval.

Shatta Wale and Stonebwoy have over the years been involved in various incidents of friction, some of which have resulted in chaos.

Recently, the two were in the news again after it emerged that they have both booked the Accra Sports Stadium concurrently for events in December.

Shatta Wale eventually cancelled his event citing the inability for his team to setup with some two or three days in-between their shows.

Meanwhile, Sammy Flex has expressed worry over the decision by the police citing the potential of economic losses to both acts.

Watch Sammy Baah’s interview below: