Executive Secretary and Head of Public Relations of the African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA), Marian Darlington, accused adults who allegedly knew about sexual abuse at Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS) but failed to intervene, saying their inaction also raises questions about their responsibility.
Speaking on JoyNews’ The Law, Darlington said children were the only innocent parties in the scandal, arguing that adults who had knowledge of the alleged abuse had a duty to act.
She expressed shock that complaints had reportedly been made repeatedly by parents, teachers and students without any meaningful intervention. “I don't see who is innocent, aside from the children. Every adult I have heard speak in that documentary is guilty of one thing or the other,” she said.
A JoyNews investigation by Manasseh Azure Awuni found that education officials, municipal authorities and other influential figures had received complaints about alleged sexual abuse involving the suspended headmaster of Obuasi SHTS, Zakaria Abdulai, months before the Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, directed the Ghana Education Service (GES) to suspend him.
The investigation, titled Inside the Dreaded Headmaster’s Bungalow, examines allegations of sexual harassment, assault and rape involving female students of the school. It found that complaints and petitions from students, parents and teachers had been submitted to school management, education officials and other authorities, but no effective action was taken for more than a year, according to accounts and documents gathered during the investigation.
Abdulai has since been suspended following the controversy. Darlington noted that the reported cases involved 16 victims from two schools, with five reports allegedly made over time without action being taken.
She also questioned why intervention came only after the GES suspended the head of the school, despite claims that the alleged abuse was widely known in the community. “At which point was somebody going to take action?” she asked.
Referring to the GES code of conduct, which she said she had been reviewing, Darlington argued that responsibility to intervene extended beyond the staff directly involved in a case. She said the situation illustrated how people in positions of authority could abuse their power, subject young girls to further violence and use their influence against other adults expected to protect them.
Darlington also raised concerns about reports that some teachers who had attempted to speak out were facing prosecution, questioning the treatment of those who sought to raise concerns.
