Ghanaian songstress Mzbel has revisited the widely discussed incident that occurred during her performance at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in 2005, rejecting claims that she was raped during the incident.
Speaking in an interview with Kafui Dey, the musician gave a detailed account of the events that unfolded on the night, explaining that she had already completed her scheduled performance when the audience repeatedly demanded that she continue.
Mzbel said she initially returned to the stage several times in response to the crowd, but eventually decided to leave because other artistes, including Castro and Praye, were waiting backstage for their turn to perform.
“I was on stage performing and after I was done, the crowd kept shouting last one, then I will start the performance again. The fourth time, I said no because Castro, Praye and other artistes were backstage,” she recounted.
She said she assured the audience that she would return after the other performers had finished, promising to continue partying with them until the following day.
The situation, however, took an unexpected turn as she attempted to leave the stage.
According to Mzbel, an unidentified person suddenly grabbed her leg and pulled her towards the crowd. She said there was a pool in the area and that she lost consciousness during the incident.
“As I was getting down from the stage, someone grabbed my leg and started pulling me into the crowd. There was a pool there, I was screaming and before I realised, I passed out,” she shared.
Mzbel firmly dismissed suggestions that she was sexually assaulted during the incident. She argued that the circumstances, including the presence of a large crowd and what she was wearing at the time, made the rape claims impossible.
“It’s not possible for anyone to rape me because there were a lot of people and I was wearing leggings. There was never rape; nobody touched my private part,” she stated.
Rather than viewing what happened as an intentional attack, Mzbel said she considered it an accident and did not believe anyone had attended the event with the intention of hurting her.
“I saw it as an accident, so it didn’t cause me any pain. I don’t think anyone deliberately came to the event centre to cause me pain,” she indicated.
The musician also spoke about the way the incident has resurfaced over the years, particularly during disagreements over her public opinions.
She said some critics continue to invoke the KNUST incident as a way of attacking her, but insisted that she has stopped allowing such comments to affect her.
“What happened in KNUST, 2005 doesn’t really bother me. People think that incident is something that is supposed to break me, so anytime they have issues with me, they bring it up.
“They will be saying I’m the one who went to KNUST and they raped me. It’s a human being that gets raped. I’m a human being and it’s not by choice,” she stated.
Mzbel maintained that she does not consider the incident a source of shame and urged those who bring it up during disagreements to stop using it as a tool to bully or discredit her.
“If they see it as something that they have to bully me with, that I was raped, it doesn’t really bother me,” she stressed.
Watch what she said below.
