JoyNews investigative correspondent Manasseh Azure Awuni has revealed that Zakaria Abdulai, the suspended headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School, is a constituency secretary of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and is seeking to become the constituency chairman.
Mr Abdulai is under investigation following allegations of sexual abuse involving female students at the school in the Ashanti Region.
Speaking on Joy FM on Thursday, October 15, Manasseh said he discovered the headmaster’s political position while conducting investigations in the community for his latest documentary.
He said Mr Abdulai was expected to contest the chairmanship position at the party’s constituency delegates’ conference, which is expected to take place before the end of the year.
"This man [the headmaster], we are told, is the Juabeng Constituency Secretary of the governing National Democratic Congress, and there are posters of him wanting to contest for the constituency chairman," he claimed.
Manasseh also raised concerns about the apparent reluctance of residents, including NDC members, to speak publicly about the allegations, despite what he described as widespread knowledge of the matter within the community.
He cited comments from former NDC constituency executive Frederick Addai, who said some party members had attempted to calm tensions and resolve the matter whenever the alleged sexual assault was discussed.
"So, a former NDC constituency executive who spoke to me, Frederick Addai, says that, anytime the issue [the alleged sexual assault] came up, some members of the party tried to come together and tried to calm tempers and get the issues resolved," he said.
The investigative journalist further said people within the school and officials of the Ghana Education Service at the district and regional levels had known about the reports but failed to take adequate action.
He suggested that Mr Abdulai’s position of authority may have afforded him protection from influential individuals.
The allegations are examined in Manasseh’s documentary, Inside the Dreaded Headmaster’s Bungalow.
On October 13, Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu directed the Ghana Education Service to suspend Mr Abdulai pending a full investigation. He also requested that the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ghana Police Service investigate the allegations.
