Ghanaian highlife musician Kwabena Kwabena has opened up about a distressing encounter with European immigration authorities during a tour in 2007.
In an interview on Okay FM, he detailed how he, along with fellow musicians Screwfaze and Reggie Zippy, endured three days in detention under circumstances he believes were racially motivated.
“It happened in 2007. Myself, Screwfaze, and Reggie Zippy were involved. It was a very unfortunate incident during our Europe tour.
“We were always driving from one city to another. We drove from Amsterdam to Italy. I’ll say they arrested us purely out of racism because the immigration followed us for an hour before pulling us over,” he said.
According to the musician, their travel documents were in order, yet the officers claimed to be unconvinced and took them to the police station, treating them as criminals.
Read Also: I’m the First Artiste to Start Valentine’s Shows – Kwabena Kwabena
“They requested our documents, and we submitted everything. They said they weren’t convinced, so we should follow them to the station. And that’s how they detained us like criminals, and we spent three days in a cell,” he added.
Kwabena Kwabena revealed that after the three-day ordeal, their case gained public attention when their arrest was published. A white human rights lawyer intervened, questioning the justification for their detention.
“After three days, they published our arrest. It was one white human rights lawyer who came in to ask what happened.
“But since the immigration couldn’t justify it, they arraigned us before a court. When we went to court, the judge asked why they detained us for three days… That was how they released us and we went to our hotel.”
However, their troubles were far from over. According to the musician, a particular officer was determined to rearrest them, leading to their passports being seized.
“Yet there was this white officer who was bent on arresting us again, so they kept our passports. We were there when they came for us, saying they weren’t convinced with the ruling of the court, so they had to take us to a higher court.”
Don’t miss out! Get your daily dose of Entertainment news and more straight to your phone. Join Ghana Street Journal Whatsapp channel now!
