Accra, Oct. 22, GNA – The Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT) has called for the prosecution of Mr Zakaria Abdulai, Headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS) over allegations of rape and sexual assault against female students.
In a statement issued on Tuesday and signed by its Convenor, Dr Akosua K. Darkwah, NETRIGHT said it was shocked by a documentary by investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni, titled: “Inside the Dreaded Headmaster’s Bungalow.”
The documentary contained allegations that Mr Abdulai lured female students to his bungalow, raped them, forced them to perform sexual acts and threatened to kill or silence them if they reported the incidents.
NETRIGHT said interviews with sources suggested that some school authorities, police officers and political actors who were aware of the allegations or had been approached by the victims failed to act to protect the girls or help them seek justice.
The organisation said rape and sexual assault were serious offences under Ghanaian law and that school authorities and others who received such allegations had an obligation to report them to the police for investigation.
It said the failure to act in the Obuasi case had left the girls and their parents without the protection and support they needed.
NETRIGHT said the case reflected a wider national problem, citing more than 1,000 girls officially recorded as having been defiled in 2020, while warning that fear and a culture of silence meant many cases went unreported.
It asked the education authorities to adopt a policy requiring the prosecution of adults who engaged in sexual activity with students, end the transfer of teachers accused of sexual misconduct to other schools, and permanently bar those found guilty from working in the education sector.
NETRIGHT called for clear guidelines prohibiting school authorities from using students as domestic workers in their homes and urged the GES to publish a report on sexual misconduct cases in schools and the action taken in each case.
It appealed to the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit, the Ghana Police Service, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, the Domestic Violence Secretariat and the Legal Aid Commission to take immediate steps to protect and support the students and help secure justice.
NETRIGHT said it would continue to monitor the case and support the students of Obuasi Senior High Technical School and other survivors of sexual violence until justice was served.
Abdulai is facing allegations of sexual misconduct involving 19 female students of the school, where he served as the headmaster.
He has since resigned as the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Secretary for the New Juabeng Constituency and withdrawn from contesting for the constituency chairmanship.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe