Women in Media condemn assault at Kona Bar
The Alliance for Women in the Media Africa has condemned the assault of Portia Asantewaa Duah by a bouncer at Kona Bar in Osu in Accra on Friday night.
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The Alliance in a statement issued and signed by Shamima Muslim Alhassan as convenor, said the issue must be treated as a matter of criminal assault and called for the bouncer to be sanctioned.
A bouncer at the bar on Friday reportedly slapped Ms Duah twice after a misunderstanding over the purchase of drinks at the bar.
Ms Duah was with a group of friends at the restaurant and was reportedly asked to leave by the bouncer, named BB, who alleged they had not bought drinks and were simply occupying space.
One of Ms Duah’s friends explained that they had bought drinks; the waitress had simply cleared their table.
The bouncer did not accept their explanation and when Ms Duah approached them to explain the situation, he reportedly told Ms Duah to keep quiet and subsequently dealt her two slaps on the cheek.
Ms Duah sustained swollen and red eyes from the slap, according AWMA.
Her shocked friends approached the manager to relay what had happened but the manager’s response was that they should let the incident go.
AWMA in the statement insisted that the bar must issue a policy for dealing with violence at the workplace.
“The Alliance for Women in the Media said it supports the victim and condemns the alleged violence of the bouncer named BB."
requires this be treated as a matter of criminal assault.
requires bouncer face trial and sanction
requires The Manager must be sanctioned for their unacceptable response
requires Kona to issue a public apology
requires Kona to issue policy for dealing with violence in their workplace
Meanwhile, the Bar has issued an apology to the victim via its Facebook page. It said it has instituted disciplinary measures against the bouncer.
Kona's apology
It said; "We, the Managment of Kona Cafe and Grill sincerely apologizes to our cherished customers for the unwarranted behaviour of our bouncer last night."
"We wish to bring to the attention of our customers that we do not condone the behaviour of our staff especially violence against women, as that does not reflect the values of our establishment, And as such, take full responsibility for his actions."
"We plead with the general public to forgive us our failings, We learn from such experiences."
"We acknowledge the distress and embarrassment caused to our customers and we have already taken the necessary disciplinary actions against him."
We apologise once again and promise that such an incident will not occur again."
Below is the full statement by AWMA
ALLIANCE FOR WOMEN IN THE MEDIA AFRICA (AWMA)
STATEMENT ON THE ASSAULT OF MS PORTIA DUAH AT KONA BAR & GRILL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For Interviews and Comment:-
ANITA ERSKINE: 233 50 453 1222
NANA AKOSUA HANSON: [email protected]
MAWUENA TREBARH: 233 24 430 3990
The Alliance for Women in the Media issues this statement to condemn the violence suffered by PORTIA ASANTEWA DUAH on Friday 18th August at Kona Bar and Grill, Osu, Accra.
Ms Portia Asantewa Duah was allegedly slapped twice in her face by a bouncer named BB at the above establishment. The incident was reported to the establishment’s Manager. The Manager’s response was that she, and the group who accompanied her, should simply let the incident go.
According to Ms Portia Asantewa Duah, below is a record of what happened on Friday 18th August.
THE INCIDENT
Ms Portia Asantewa Duah was with a group of friends at this restaurant and was asked to leave by a bouncer, named BB, who alleged they had not bought drinks and were simply occupying space.
One of Miss Duah’s friends explained this was not the case. They had bought drinks; the waitress had simply cleared their table.
This bouncer did not accept this explanation. Ms Portia approached a waitress and asked for a receipt as evidence of drinks purchased. Ms Portia began to speak with her friends explaining the incident was embarrassing. The bouncer told Ms Portia to keep quiet; he was not speaking with her.
He then slapped her across her face, twice. Ms Portia sustained swollen and red eyes from the slap. Her shocked friends approached the manager to relay what had happened. The Manager’s response was that they should let the incident go.
AFTERMATH
On Saturday 19th August, Madame Portia spent an entire day – from 9am to 11pm - dealing with this traumatic incident. She went to two different hospitals as the first did not have an eye clinic, then to the police station and then had to deal with the police’s bureaucracy. She has since spent GHC300 on seeking medical attention and getting a medical report for the police.
ACTION
The Alliance for Women in the Media:-
- supports the victim
- condemns the alleged violence of the bouncer named BB.
- requires this be treated as a matter of criminal assault.
- requires bouncer face trial and sanction
- requires The Manager must be sanctioned for their unacceptable response
- requires Kona to issue a public apology
- requires Kona to issue policy for dealing with violence in their workplace
SIGNED
Shamima Muslim Alhassan
Convenor, AWMA.
* Alliance for Women in the Media (AWMA) is a Women in Media and Communications advocacy and empowerment group made up of over 150 professionals from across the media industry in Ghana.
