The Ghana Police have commenced investigations into allegations that American music star Chris Brown smoked “weed” on stage during his performance at the Hope City concert at the Accra Sports Stadium on March 5.
The act has received a lot of criticism from civil society organizations and the general public. Notable voices that have condemned the act include Minister of State and Member of Parliament for Wa Central, Rashid Pelpuo and Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, Most Reverend Charles Palmer-Buckle.
Organizers of the concert, Charter House, categorically denied media reports that American music star smoked weed during his performance at the event. According to the events outfit, Chris Brown smoked a cigar, not marijuana.
A statement released by the police Monday and signed by DSP Cephas Arthur, Director of Public Affairs said the investigation has been necessitated by a complaint filed by Mr. Jonathan Osei-Wusu, CEO of POS Foundation.
The statement said, “The Police have commenced investigation into the formal complaint of Indian hemp smoking made by the CEO of POS Foundation, Mr. Jonathan Osei-Wusu on 6th March 2013 at the Ministries Police station against the popular American RnB artist Chris Brown.”
The American RnB star, the police noted, “is alleged to have smoked Indian hemp while performing on stage at the Accra Sports Stadium in the early hours of Wednesday 6th March 2013.”
The police quoted Section 5 of narcotic drugs [Control Enforcement and Sanctions] Act, 1990 PNDCL 236, which stipulates that “a person shall not, without lawful authority or excuse, smoke, sniff, consume, inject into the body or otherwise administer a narcotic drug on the body of that person.”
“We wish to state that all persons, whether visiting or native who does an act in contravention of the above quoted Act shall be dealt with in accordance with the law.”
The statement said, in the case of Chris Brown, a docket has been opened, and “we would want to assure the good people of Ghana that the police will do everything possible to get to the bottom of it.”
“Meanwhile, we are calling on the public to exercise patience, in the interest of due process and in respect of the rule of law, and provide the police with relevant information in support of the due process,” the statement concluded.
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