Jazmine Saaka stepped into the spotlight in August 2025 when she was crowned Miss University of Ghana. As part of her package for winning the competition, she claims she was promised a brand-new car and an all-expenses-paid trip to Dubai.
Months later, the University of Ghana student finds herself in a dispute with the very student government that organized the pageant, alleging a trail of broken promises and outright stonewalling.
Spilling the Details
In an hour-long interview on Accra’s Hitz FM on Tuesday, Saaka spoke on her grievances against the administration of Maradona Yeboah Adjei — better known by his stage name, Guru — the popular music artist who doubled as president of the University of Ghana’s Student Representative Council (SRC).
She also claimed that funds earmarked for her prizes were diverted to benefit a top SRC official, the Women’s Commissioner, Antoinette Opoku.
In the interview, she recounted receiving an unexpected email from EgyptAir on Monday. The message, she said, thanked her for a flight she never took — a leg from Cairo to Dubai on what was supposed to be her sponsored trip.
Attached was a confirmation letter, not just for her nonexistent journey, but for Opoku’s as well. “That’s when I found out that with the Miss UG money, they had also booked a trip and ticket for the women’s commissioner,” she said.
Allegations of Intimidation
The car prize, promised as a new Toyota, arrived in her driveway weeks after the pageant as a “spoiled” hand-me-down, and its interior was in tatters.
“The only award the pageant organizers have given me is a broken car,” she told Hitz FM hosts.
She later claimed she was summoned to a “two-minute casual meeting” in a sick bay still under construction on campus — a venue where Guru’s assistant, Isaac, Guru himself, and Women’s Commissioner, Antoinette Opoku, were present.
She narrated how Isaac confiscated her phone before the meeting officially started.
“I was called into a two-minute casual meeting in a sick bay that was still under construction, and Guru’s assistant (Isaac) took my phone,” she recounted.
“Guru then told me the car was a gift—and gifts are not returned. He added that his office was empty, so if I wanted to complain, who would I even complain to?” she added.
The Dubai trip fared no better. Saaka says she made “like 20 attempts” to secure details — calls, texts, emails, even handwritten letters hand-delivered to SRC offices.
Campaign of Misinformation
Then came the misinformation campaign, she alleges: Bloggers and social media influencers were fed a narrative that Saaka had “voluntarily refused” the trip, painting her as ungrateful or overly demanding.
“There was a time when they would speak to bloggers and make it seem like I decided not to go on the trip, even though they had blocked me,” she said.
When a ticket finally materialized, no other information was provided.
Safety concerns loomed large for Saaka, whose parents, wary but supportive, urged caution without the basics.
“My parents didn’t stop me from going on the trip,” she clarified. “They hadn’t even told us where I will be staying, and when I’m going, so how will they know what to do?“
The “Guru” Administration
Guru’s administration, which assumed office last year amid fanfare, has faced recent criticism.
As SRC president, the 38-year-old rapper — whose hits like “Fire Fire” have topped Ghanaian charts — promised transparency and youth empowerment.
His path to the SRC Presidency was marked by controversy, as the SRC Vetting Committee initially disqualified him because he was a non-residential student, citing the SRC Constitution.
He appealed the decision and eventually got his eligibility reinstated by the SRC Judicial and Appeals Board, allowing him to contest and win the election
The Labari Journal reached out to the University of Ghana via email for comment on this story. We did not receive a response by the time of this publication.
