Academic ceremonies like congregations are designed to convey gravity, with formal processions, tightly managed protocol and speeches calibrated for history rather than humour.

Yet at successive ceremonies of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (KNUST) laughter has repeatedly found a narrow, disciplined place, not as entertainment but as a communication tool.

From the 52nd Congregation, through the 57th Special Congregation/Congregation in 2024, to the 59th Congregation in 2025, the university’s podium offered a living archive of how humour can be used in formal academic ritual, and how style shifts with leadership and context.

52nd: humour as narrative and metaphor

At the 52nd Congregation, on July 14, 2018, then Vice-Chancellor Prof. Kwasi Obiri-Danso deployed humour expansively, using storytelling and metaphor to do as much work as the punchlines themselves.

Praising Mastercard Foundation scholars programe leaders for their philanthropic outreach in underserved communities, he recalled their reception by the Chancellor at Manhyia Palace. They had paid a courtesy call, he said, before adding, with deliberate pauses between each word, that they were treated to “Otumfuo’s sumptuous lunch box.”

The spacing was intentional. Delivered with a smile, the phrase drew giggles across the hall.

Prof. Obiri-Danso’s most memorable levity came as he referenced the July 2018 Congregation, when Ghanaian artist and KNUST alumnus Ibrahim Mahama draped the Great Hall with old jute sacks, an installation that startled first-time visitors.

Acknowledging their reactions, he said many had wondered whether KNUST had “gone mad,” then lifted his head, paused, and added, “No, not yet.” The brief silence before the line did as much work as the words themselves.

Laughter followed, quickly tempered by explanation. “We’re only celebrating one of our own.”

He extended the metaphor with another carefully paced line that carried both humour and critique. The jute sacks, he noted, once carried cocoa beans to Ghana’s harbours. The beans, he said, “got their visas and crossed the Atlantic,” while the sacks were left behind. Again, the pause before the conclusion invited recognition rather than surprise.

The laughter that followed was not ridicule but acknowledgement, an audience responding to a familiar truth framed with wit.

Even academic triumphs were punctuated lightly. Commending a KNUST law student team for winning a moot court competition for the second consecutive time, Prof. Obiri-Danso stressed the words “back-to-back,” spacing them deliberately to heighten anticipation and draw another ripple of laughter.

What defined humour at the 52nd Congregation was not simply what was said, but how it was delivered. Deliberate spacing, controlled pauses and selective stress functioned as rhetorical cues, signalling when laughter was permissible and when solemnity should resume.

57th: humour as applause choreography and advocacy

By the 57th Special Congregation in 2024, humour had become more punctuated and procedural in tone, shaped largely by the current Vice-Chancellor, Professor (Mrs.) Rita Akosua Dickson, and the presence of high-level state dignitaries, including the Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum.

In one sequence, Prof. Dickson used laughter to frame an appeal for continued government support. Marking the completion of four-year studies by the campus’s first batch of students, she expressed gratitude to the Government of Ghana before signalling, with humour, that more was to come.

“With our first batch of students completing their four-year studies, we cannot take pride in our accomplishments without showing deep appreciation to the government of Ghana for the continuous assistance provided to this campus since its establishment… Your Excellency, we are very grateful. Thank you very much. Please clap well so that when I follow with the request,… Thank you,” she said, laughing. “You know your excellency is here, you have to clap,” she added, drawing laughter from the hall.

She then returned to her message. “Thank you, Your Excellency. We’re doing well there, but we still need more help,” she said, again accompanied by laughter.

The Vice-Chancellor also used humour to moderate how competitive outcomes were received. Referring to a continental moot court competition that brought together 50 universities from 17 African countries on themes including sexual and gender minority rights, climate change and corruption, she announced KNUST’s performance with deliberate understatement.

“I am delighted to announce to you that team KNUST slightly (laughter) slightly missed the first position and was the runner-up (laughter). Clap for us, we were the runner-up,” she said, laughing, prompting applause.

Humour was similarly used to pace applause and manage audience fatigue during the listing of awards. On one occasion, she invited applause before announcing an achievement. On another, after enumerating multiple awards, she paused and asked, “Are you tired clapping now?” eliciting fresh laughter without breaking the formal flow of proceedings.

Good-natured rivalry surfaced briefly when she mentioned the participation of the University of Ghana in a national competition, again prompting laughter before she announced KNUST’s success at the Ghana Universities Debate Championship.

Her acknowledgements to donors and dignitaries were similarly choreographed. Noting an alumnus supporter in the hall, she called for applause with a light prompt. Turning to the Minister of Education, she asked, “Do you want to clap for him?” then gestured to laptops for students and predicted that the minister would speak about them, drawing laughter from both the audience and the minister.

At the 57th Congregation, the then Vice-President, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, a keen advocate of digitisation, was the special guest.

Referring to the One Student One Laptop Project (SONSOL project), Prof. Dickson said:
“Digital disruptions comes with having tools. The students who cannot afford we must support them. And I’m so happy that his excellency is here. I know when you touch on digitisation, you’ve touched on his nerves. And I know he’ll say something about this project before he goes. Clap for him in advance,” she said, to laughter and applause.

Prof. Dickson’s humour at both occasions functioned as rhythm and leverage. It paced applause, eased protocol, and made advocacy feel conversational.

59th: humour as institutional confidence and measured rivalry

At the 59th Congregation and 13th R.P. Baffour Memorial Lectures, Prof. Dickson’s style appeared even more compact, with humour used as quick punctuation within a larger institutional narrative of pride, competition and achievement.

Thanking the government for support, she acknowledged the Chancellor, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, for “reminding Her Excellency for us,” then added: “When we are appreciating them, we’re also applying.”

Laughter rippled through the Great Hall. The wordplay transformed advocacy into irony, allowing the message of continued need to land without sounding demanding.

Thanking the government of Ghana for its support, the Vice-Chancellor acknowledged the university’s Chancellor, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II for “reminding Her Excellency for us,” before adding: “When we are appreciating them, we’re also applying.”

Laughter rippled through the Great Hall, following the wordplay. The remark transformed advocacy into irony, allowing the message of continued need to land without sounding demanding.

Moments later, humour framed inspiration. Referring to Dr Mercy Asiedu as the first woman to deliver the R.P. Baffour Memorial Lecture, and noting the presence of the Vice President, Dickson observed: “If they don’t inspire you, I don’t know what else would.”

The audience laughed again, not at the achievement, but at the understatement that allowed it to speak for itself.

As the vice-chancellor moved to student accomplishments, humour became a tool for engagement. Announcing Enactus KNUST as the 2025 national champion and impatiently anticipating an applause, she quibbled: “Ah, why are you sitting there, looking at me?” The aside drew laughter and momentarily dissolved the distance between podium and floor.

Narrating the team’s journey, from recognition at Jubilee House to the global competition in Bangkok, Prof. Dickson built suspense with repetition.

Their performance, she said, “nearly, nearly… nearly,” brought home the trophy. The audience laughed, joined by the vice-chancellor herself, before she urged them to “watch out for them in the next call.”

Good-natured rivalry followed. In stressing the scale of competition, Prof. Dickson noted that the University of Ghana and the University of Cape Coast were present. “They were all there,” she said. The repetition prompted shared laughter that elevated KNUST’s success without diminishing peers.

The same pattern appeared when Team KNUST was announced as winner of the 2025 National Insurance Debate organised by the Ghana Insurance Association. Fifteen tertiary institutions competed, she said. “Yes, they were there.” Again, humour reinforced dominance while preserving collegial respect.

Even formal appointments were eased with levity. Announcing the appointment of Rev Prof William Otoo Ellis as chair of the governing council of Akenten Appiah Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development, Prof. Mrs. Dickson acknowledged the length of the institution’s name. “That’s a long one, isn’t it?” Laughter followed, briefly lightening an otherwise procedural moment.

She closed the sequence with playful institutional pride, joking that council chair appointments seemed to be flowing from KNUST. “Anytime you need council chairmen, come here.” The line drew laughter not because it mocked the process, but because it exaggerated success in a way the audience recognised.

The humour at the 59th was sharper than at the 52nd, and less performative than at the 57th. It projected institutional confidence, while remaining bound by ceremony.

What changed and what stayed the same

Across the four ceremonies, humour followed a consistent rule. It came after substantive information, not before it. It relied on devices that suit formal spaces, including irony, repetition, understatement and brief asides, rather than elaborate jokes.

It avoided sensitive targets and directed laughter toward shared realities, institutional processes or celebratory exaggeration.

What changed was the dominant function

At the 52nd, humour was expansive and interpretive. It helped build meaning and cultural resonance, using metaphor and narrative to frame the university’s identity.

At the 57th, humour was managerial. It paced applause, managed audience energy, and softened direct appeals for support and recognition in the presence of powerful guests.

At the 59th, humour was strategic punctuation. It signalled confidence, reinforced competitive credibility, also softened direct appeals for support and kept the hall attentive while achievements were catalogued.

In each case, laughter did not disrupt solemnity. It rather served it. The humour became a controlled release, a way to humanise authority while keeping the ceremonial centre intact.

By the time applause faded at each gathering, the achievements were clear. So was the pattern.

By: Emmanuel Kwasi Debrah