Obuasi SHTS abuse: Adults who knew but failed to act are also guilty – Mariam Darlington

Amesika Apprey of A-Partners@Law, has condemned what she describes as a culture of tolerance and enablement that allowed alleged sexual abuse at Obuasi Senior High Technical School to persist despite complaints from victims. Speaking on JoyNews’ The Law, she questioned why decisive action was not taken after the girls reportedly spoke out, despite existing laws and the Ghana Education Service (GES) code of conduct intended to guide staff responses to misconduct. Apprey said the adults whose accounts featured in the documentary had, in one way or another, contributed to what she described as a culture that tolerated and enabled sexual abuse.

“I agree every single person who we heard speak has had a role to play in this culture of enablement and tolerance of sexual abuse,” she said. “I take this on a personal level because I have a child who is a teenager as well and will be going to secondary school,” she said, adding that the revelations had left her with “all kinds of thoughts.” Her comments follows JoyNews investigation by Manasseh Azure Awuni revealig that education officials, municipal authorities and other influential figures had received complaints about alleged sexual abuse involving the suspended headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School, 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. Mr Abdulai has since been suspended following the controversy. Executive Secretary and Head of Public Relations of the African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA), Marian Darlington, has criticised adults who allegedly knew about sexual abuse at Obuasi Senior High Techical School but failed to intervene, saying their inaction also raises questions about their responsibility.

Speaking on JoyNews’ The Law, she 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 has revealed that education officials, municipal authorities and other influential figures had received complaints about alleged sexual abuse involving the suspended headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School, Zakaria Abdulai, months before the Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, directed the Ghana Education Service (GES) to suspend him. Ms 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 Ghana Education Service (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, Ms Darlington argued that responsibility to intervene extended beyond the staff directly involved in a case.