Manu Crooks was locked up and accused of gang raping a young woman. He said he wasn’t even in the same room. Now, after a years-long ordeal, his girlfriend Amarni hits out
The pop star girlfriend of a rapper who was accused of gang rape has revealed the toll of standing by an ‘innocent, successful Black man’ after all charges against him were withdrawn.
Manu Crooks, whose real name is Emmanuel Amankwah, had always denied any involvement in the alleged pack rape of a drunk woman at an inner-city Sydney apartment almost four years ago.
Crooks – who has no criminal record and spent a month behind bars on remand when he was first charged – was facing a maximum penalty of life in jail if convicted.
The 33-year-old was to face trial on Tuesday, but five days before the hearing was due to start, the Crown directed the indictment against Crooks be dropped, or ‘no-billed’.
Crooks, who has been called a ‘leader of Australia’s flourishing rap scene’, released his debut EP Mood Forever in 2017, scoring a hit with the single Fuego the following year.
When Crooks was arrested in June 2024 he had recently begun dating hip hop and R&B recording artist Amarni, who supported her boyfriend in court and continues to stand steadfastly beside him.
Amarni, who is best known for her viral hit UH HUH! and recently finished an Australian tour with US singer Saweetie, told Daily Mail she always knew Crooks was innocent.
‘None of the articles which previously have been published were of any truth,’ she said of the rape allegations about Crooks and a report the couple had called it quits.
Australian rapper Manu Crooks, who was accused of gang raping a drunk woman after a night of partying, has been cleared of all charges on the eve of the case going to trial. Crooks is pictured with his girlfriend, pop star Amarni, who has spoken out on his behalf
Manu Crooks, whose real name is Emmanuel Amankwah, has always denied taking part in the alleged rape of a woman at an inner-city Sydney apartment four years ago. Crooks is pictured
‘I’m a woman first, and standing beside an innocent, successful Black man who was falsely accused of such a heinous crime has been one of the hardest things I’ve experienced.
‘The allegations made against Manu were false – which is demonstrated by the prosecution no-billing the case.
‘My heart genuinely goes out to real victims of abuse and assault, because situations like this can make it harder for genuine victims to come forward and receive justice.’
Crooks, who moved to Australia from Ghana when he was 12, has performed at major local events such as Splendour in the Grass, Spilt Milk and Falls Festival, as well as Rolling Loud in Miami.
Amarni, who has 186,000 followers on Instagram, found early success with the tracks Beyonce, SXC and Mashallah, and has appeared at Australian festivals including Lunar Electric.
The 28-year-old denied a September 2025 newspaper report that she and Crooks had split up, which had been based on them no longer following each other on social media.
Crooks was facing trial on two counts of aggravated sexual assault in the company of others and one count of sexually touching another person without consent.
But at a pre-trial mention in Downing Centre District Court on June 4, the indictment was withdrawn and the DPP directed there be no further proceedings.
When Crooks was arrested in June 2024 he had recently begun dating hip hop and R&B recording artist Amarni (above), who supported her boyfriend in court and steadfastly stands by him
Crooks, who has no criminal record and spent a month behind bars on remand when he was first charged, was facing a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted
Two charges of aggravated sexual assault in company against Crooks’ 40-year-old co-accused Weheliye Ahmed Keynan were no-billed on the same day.
Three charges of aggravated sexual assault in company and three of sexually touching against 29-year-old Anwar Joseph were also no-billed.
Crooks’ solicitor Carla Velasquez said: ‘We welcome the decision to withdraw the charges against our client.’
‘This outcome reflects what we have maintained from the outset – that Manu is and always was not guilty of the offences alleged,’ Ms Velasquez told Daily Mail.
The collapse of the cases against Crooks, Keynan and Joseph comes amid widespread criticism of the office of DPP Sally Dowling over the way alleged sex crimes are prosecuted.
At least five NSW District Court judges have in recent years accused the DPP of taking sexual assault cases to trial based on evidence so flimsy the prosecutions were doomed to fail.
An internal audit of sexual assault cases ordered by Ms Dowling found in February 2025 that 97 per cent of such matters heard over an eight-month period met the required standards to prosecute.
A DPP spokeswoman said the office would not be commenting on why the indictments against Crooks, Keynan and Joseph were no-billed.
‘I’m a woman first, and standing beside an innocent, successful Black man who was falsely accused of such a heinous crime has been one of the hardest things I’ve experienced,’ Amarni said
Crooks, who moved to Australia from Ghana as a 12-year-old, released his debut EP Mood Forever in 2017 and has been called a ‘leader of Australia’s flourishing rap scene’
‘Decisions to prosecute, or not prosecute, are made in accordance with the Prosecution Guidelines,’ the spokeswoman said.
‘Those reasons may involve evidentiary, or discretionary considerations.
‘The reasons for those decisions are subject to legal professional privilege and as such we politely decline to comment.’
Crooks, from Lidcombe, Keynan, from Mays Hill, and Joseph, from Pyrmont, had all entered not guilty pleas to each charge in August last year.
The three men were accused of raping a woman at Zetland in October 2022, following a night out in Kings Cross and at house parties.
It was not alleged Crooks sexually assaulted the woman himself, but according to a statement of alleged facts tendered in court, he ‘at no time attempted to stop this from happening’.
The woman, who had been asleep before the alleged assaults, told a friend on the night she had been raped. The three men denied doing anything wrong and, along with the alleged victim and her friend, moved on to another house party.
The alleged victim eventually called her father to collect her from the last venue and told staff at a medical clinic she had been raped two weeks later.
‘The allegations made against Manu were false – which is demonstrated by the prosecution no-billing the case,’ Amarni said
She went to police in March 2024 – 18 months after the alleged assaults – and Crooks, Joseph and Keynan were arrested following an investigation.
From the outset, Crooks’ first solicitor Abdul Lazki said the case against his client had many weaknesses but the singer was initially refused bail on June 27, 2024.
Mr Lazki told Parramatta Local Court the complaint against Crooks had been made long after an incident which had allegedly taken place, ‘in circumstances where the complainant was highly intoxicated’.
There were also references to ‘a significant amount of drug use’ on the night of the alleged assaults.
‘A witness says they saw [Crooks] leave the bedroom [and] he instructs me that he was not actually in the bedroom during the time that the alleged incident took place,’ Mr Lazki told the court.
Mr Lazki said Crooks had significant community ties and noted his partner was in court to support him.
The solicitor also argued Crooks’ ‘quasi-celebrity status’ as a well-known musician and online personality would make him vulnerable in custody if he did not get bail.
Recognising there were ‘some complications’ in the matter, Judge Quinn granted bail on conditions including that Crooks report twice a week to police, not contact his co-accused, and not drink alcohol or take unprescribed drugs.
Crooks was also permitted to travel to the Gold Coast in October to perform at the Promiseland Festival in Doug Jennings Park at Main Beach.
Amarni celebrated her boyfriend’s release with a series of Instagram posts including a selfie with one of his family members and the message ‘I love you’, and another saying ‘my baby’s coming homeeeeee’.
