Obuasi SHTS sex scandal: Parliament Gender committee demands full accountability
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Gender, Children and Social Welfare has called for a thorough and impartial investigation into allegations of sexual abuse involving students of Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS).
The committee has urged the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service to establish the facts, examine the handling of previous complaints and ensure that anyone found culpable faces the appropriate sanctions.
The call follows an investigative documentary titled Inside the Dreaded Headmaster’s Bungalow, produced by journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni, which brought the allegations to public attention.
The story revealed that the headmaster, Zakaria Abdulai, has alleged assaulted about 19 students of the school.
In a statement issued on Friday, October 23, the committee acknowledged the suspension of the school’s headmaster, pending investigations, and the referral of the matter to the police.
It stressed that the investigations must be thorough and transparent, and that anyone found responsible, including those who may have concealed wrongdoing or failed to discharge their safeguarding duties, must face the appropriate disciplinary or criminal consequences.
The committee also urged authorities to provide affected students with confidential counselling, medical care and other necessary support.
It called for measures to protect students, their families, witnesses and whistle-blowers from intimidation, retaliation and stigmatisation. It further appealed to the media and the public to protect the identities and privacy of the children involved.
The committee commended the Ministers for Education and Gender, Children and Social Protection, Haruna Iddrisu and Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, respectively, for meeting Manasseh Azure Awuni to obtain first-hand information on the allegations.
However, the committee cautioned against treating the allegations as established facts, emphasising that every accused person is entitled to due process and is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a competent court.
“No position, political affiliation or institutional interest should place any person beyond scrutiny or above the law,” the statement said.
Beyond the ongoing investigation, the committee called for a comprehensive review of safeguarding and complaints-handling systems in schools to ensure that children can report abuse through safe, accessible and confidential channels.