Entertainment & the Law: Understanding Shatta Wale’s present headaches

This week has not been silent. For any journalist, it is what you hope for in any week, the sensation and the buzz that drives the news. Sensationalism has driven the entertainment industry for decades. Professional media may call it agenda setting. Entertainment blogs will call it gossip. Nonetheless, everyone can agree that we are beings that have a real need for clickbait stories and will not shy away from creating them when we can.

It is why I am not entirely dismissive of Shatta Wale in this present issue. It will absolutely be unfair if I suggest in this writing that the events of this week were to drive a popularity agenda. By every means, you will expect that a man of his stature and renown will know better and appreciate the limits to pursuing popularity via means like this.

In any case, he already commands a significant following on social media. It is the matter of his fan base that I find oddly peculiar. If Shatta Wale entertained this prank as a popularity stunt, that will be as unfortunate as it will be silly, given the huge price he may have to pay. I understand the court [on Thursday, 21st October 2021] remanded him to custody for a week. Shatta Movement will not like this!

But let’s recap the events…

On Tuesday, September 28, 2021, a Bishop sits in the studio of an Accra-based radio station, Accra FM and declares in Twi that “on October 18, 2021, a big calamity will befall Ghana. Ghanaians should pray for our musicians, especially dancehall music performers. I saw in my vision that one had lost his life.”

He continues to say that “what occurred on October 18, 2007, in South Africa is going to happen in Ghana. The person is a popular dancehall artist in Ghana. In the spiritual realm, I saw that he was attacked by armed robbers and was shot dead. He needs to consult a man of God to pray and redeem him. I saw this while praying, but in Ghana, when you prophesy, you will be attacked. His first name is Charles. He should pray seriously”.

The name of the Bishop is Stephen Akwasi. In popular circles, however, he is called Jesus Ahuofe.

Founder of New Life Kingdom Chapel, Biship Stephen Akwasi, aka Jesus Ahuofe

Shortly afterwards, media reports on Monday, October 18, 2021, suggest that Shatta Wale has been shot by some unidentified individuals. The rumour appears to have been confirmed by his assistant, Nana Dope, who according to these reports, notes that the musician was shot around East Legon. It adds that Shatta Wale is receiving treatment at a medical facility.

When the police begin to investigate the matter, none of Shatta Wale’s close friends and family members seems to have any idea what is happening nor his whereabouts. It is not until hours later that Shatta Wale takes to Facebook to apologize for feigning the attack because of the death prophecy he had received from Jesus Ahuofe.

Let’s face it, I don’t suppose there is a single person who is unaware of the illegality of causing fear and panic to the public through the dissemination of fake news and reports. Section 208 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) is perhaps the most referred-to legal provision on this matter.

One of the legacies of the lockdown during the peak periods of the COVID-19 pandemic was the huge emphasis that was placed on the dangers of “fake news”. At a time when more than half the population was spending significant parts of their lives on social media, there was never going to be a more ripe time to drum home the caution in section 208 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960.

At the risk of being unnecessarily repetitive, grant that I repeat the provisions of the said section here;

1. Any person who publishes or reproduces any statement, rumour or report which is likely to cause fear and alarm to the public or to disturb the public peace knowing or having reason to believe that the statement, rumour or report is false is guilty of a misdemeanour.
2. It is no defence to a charge under subsection (1) that the person charged did not know or did not have reason to believe that the statement, rumour or report was false unless he proves that, prior to publication, he took reasonable measures to verify the accuracy of the statement, rumour or report.

I listened to a private legal practitioner, Yaw Oppong on Citi TV’s Point of View on Wednesday, and thought it was interesting that he mentioned that Shatta Wale’s case was a misdemeanour, not a felony. For Shatta Wale’s fanbase and the thousands of Ghanaians that love him, this may be welcoming, simply because the punishment may not be as intense. To put your mind at ease, Shatta Wale could be facing three years in jail if the court decides to flex its full muscle in this matter. [Let’s hope not, after all this is Shatta Wale’s first incident, right? RIGHT???]

However, without attempting any prejudicial insinuations, the two tests Mr Oppong suggested can prove to be a reliable metric in determining whether or not Shatta Wale will be convicted on the charge of causing fear and panic.

First, the prosecution must prove that Shatta Wale was fully and conscionably aware that the information he put out was false. ‘Conscionably’ is just a nonsense word that doesn’t mean anything new, I just like it.

Secondly, the prosecution must prove that the information Shatta Wale put out caused fear and panic in the public. This is where it gets really interesting.

Typically, it is important to establish that an action has caused fear and panic if it causes people to be wary and even more cautious at a particular point in time. In recent times, there has been a surge in cases of robbery and murders. Some of these have happened in broad daylight and left scores of individuals scared and in need of professional medical assistance. If Shatta Wale was shot, like the rumours suggested, the panic that would have hit Accra would be unimaginable, never mind the chaos and possible vandalism.

There is a third focus we should explore, the matter of distress. This is important because it will help us understand how the action of one man can affect an entire nation. In this instance, how it will affect an entire fan base. Maybe, we were not afraid for our lives nor put in a state of panic for our safety. However, we were apprehensive and were needlessly on the lookout for updates on a matter that was unnecessary and plain silly.

Shatta Wale was in the trends on Twitter throughout Monday evening and well into Wednesday evening. I just took another look at the trends and there is a new one, #FreeShattaWale. I suppose it is a reaction to the news that the dancehall artist is to be kept in custody for another week. I knew these guys will not be happy.

Shatta Wale’s actions caused his fandom a significant amount of worry. It will appear that he anticipated it because, in one of the fake posts that were made on Monday evening, he clearly asked his followers to stay calm, an acknowledgement of the distress and the panic he had caused that large section of the population.

In any case, it is nice to see the matter of law being applied in the way it is being applied currently. There is little to suggest that the two-point test advanced by Mr Oppong will not be fulfilled by the prosecution. When that happens, what new hashtag will be advanced to cause the court to sidestep the clear provisions of the law?

Unnecessarily causing fear and panic is a crime. For a journalist like myself, it may mean toning down on my love for the sensational stories that will get the clicks. For the rest of us, maybe, let’s just stick to sharing information we verifiably know to be true. Not so hard, is it?