Dancehall artiste Shatta Wale says the recent controversy involving the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has damaged his reputation and caused him to lose several business opportunities.
Speaking in an interview on Ekosiisen on Asempa FM on Wednesday, the musician expressed disappointment over how the matter was handled, insisting that the situation has negatively affected his brand both locally and internationally.
“I feel sad about it because the system hasn’t really protected me as a citizen,” he said.
“I see this whole situation to be either a gameplay or I’m a target of something.”
According to him, the issue began when officials from EOCO visited his residence over claims that the former National Signals Bureau Director-General, Kwabena Adu-Boahene, had given him vehicles that authorities wanted to investigate.
“When this matter came up, it was about Adu-Boahene, who is a state official, and I know EOCO deals with state issues,” he explained.
“But they came to my house saying Adu-Boahene had cars with me, and they wanted to check. When they came, there were no cars. It was just my Lamborghini.”
The artiste insisted he had no dealings with the politician and questioned why the matter was handled publicly rather than privately.
“Shatta is a very loyal and patriotic citizen. If you had come to me and said that your car had a problem in America and they had been looking for it, I would have signed the papers for you to send it back.”
Shatta Wale said the way the issue was handled has created the impression that he knowingly bought a stolen vehicle.
“Everybody thinks I bought a stolen car,” he said.
“When I came, I drove here with my Lamborghini. If it was stolen, why would I be driving it around?”
He further revealed that he had personally appealed to the EOCO boss to handle the matter discreetly.
“The respect I had for the EOCO boss—when I met him, I even knelt down and told him that whatever they want to do with the issue, they should not let it come out,” he said.
The musician is therefore calling on the EOCO leadership to apologise to protect his reputation.
“I want to boldly say that the EOCO boss needs to apologise to my brand, not me, Shatta Wale, because they have really tarnished my image in Ghana and even abroad,” he stated.
He added that hearing suggestions that the vehicle could be linked to proceeds of crime left him disturbed.
“The best thing they could have said was ‘Shatta, come and take your car,’ but to hear another story that the car is proceeds of crime, I was like, where is this coming from? At a point, I felt like I was not safe in this country.”
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com