Dancehall artiste Shatta Wale has apologized to the Ghana Police Service for swearing and yelling at a senior police officer who pulled him over for apparently driving an unregistered vehicle.
A video circulating on social media showed Shatta Wale talking in an inappropriate manner to a police officer who had allegedly stopped him in the middle of the road.
Many have raised eyebrows about the manner in which Shatta Wale behaved towards the officer, while some of his fans continue to side with him.
The issue that triggered the row was not certain as the video did not clearly show what it was about. It was purported that Shatta Wale was stopped by the policeman, but was resisting an arrest hence his reaction.
However, on Monday, 5 March 2018, the award-winning musician apologized to the police officer via a video on Facebook, saying that he has a personal relationship with the entire police force for his action.
“I’ll like to apologize to the police, the entire corporate police body. Ghana Police has been so nice to me. I don’t want anybody to tarnish my image within that fold. Not only Ghana Police but the whole governmental body has been really nice to me. I don’t really want things to go down like the way people are portraying things,†he said.
He continued: “This policeman we are talking about is my uncle, that’s how I call him. He has also helped me in life before. Yes, I will apologize for the conduct, for raising my voice and the way I spoke…â€
The Kakai hitmaker explained that he was not resisting arrest as some are reporting on social media, adding that no one is bigger than the police.
“People said police stopped me and I was resisting arrest. No, when the policeman stops you, you can’t say you won’t stop; you are not higher than the policeman because you are a civilian. He has the highest power and the highest authority, so, people should stop portraying that because Shatta Wale, ‘I’m not like that’â€. “I want to apologize to IGP, Regional commander, and all his team,†he reiterated.
Narrating what happened, Shatta Wale said: “My car wasn’t stopped, it was my G Wagon that was stopped and I went down to talk to the police because they are human beings like us.â€
He advised Ghanaians not to “give police attitude,†when they meet them at checkpoints. “The police are my friends because I get protected a lot when I do my stadium shows. They stand for me from night to morning and I love that.â€