A committee that investigated the August 2026 disturbances at the Obuasi Senior High Technical School in the Ashanti Region has concluded that sexual harassment allegations against the headmaster, Zakaria Abdulai, were not substantiated by the evidence presented to it.
The finding relates to the earlier inquiry into the events surrounding the school’s August demonstration. It is separate from a fresh investigation commissioned by the Ghana Education Service (GES) following a recent JoyNews investigation into another allegation of sexual abuse against the headmaster.
In its report on the August incident, the nine-member committee said it received information from the school’s Safe Space Focal Person that 16 girls were allegedly involved in sexual harassment cases concerning the headmaster.
All 16 were invited to appear before the committee, but only four attended.
According to the report, one of the four denied the allegations, while three initially reported conduct they considered to constitute sexual harassment. These included accounts of hugging and a kiss on the cheek. The committee also noted an inconsistency in one student’s account concerning whether she had performed duties for the headmaster.
“On the evidence available to it, the Committee therefore found that the allegation of sexual harassment between the Headmaster and any of the girls who appeared before the Committee was not substantiated,” the report stated.
The headmaster denied sexually harassing any student.
However, the committee raised concerns about professional boundaries and the handling of the allegations by school authorities.
It noted that the headmaster acknowledged that students performed cleaning duties at his residence, although he maintained that these were restricted to the exterior and that housemistresses assigned the students.
The committee described aspects of the handling of the complaints as unprofessional and questioned the appropriateness of students’ access to staff residences.
It also raised safeguarding concerns about the recording and circulation of students’ accounts outside established school reporting procedures. According to the report, some teachers and former students helped obtain or facilitate recordings relating to the allegations.
The committee recommended that people whose conduct raised reasonable concerns be referred to the appropriate disciplinary authorities for further hearings, with sanctions imposed where culpability is established.
It also proposed stricter controls on students’ access to staff residences and offices, supervised duties where students undertake cleaning at the headmaster’s residence, and stronger counselling and safeguarding structures.
This inquiry followed disturbances on Tuesday, 4 August 2026, after the discovery of a suspected foetus on the school compound. The incident escalated into an attack on the headmaster and damage to school and personal property.
The committee was inaugurated on 11 August to investigate the causes of the demonstration, the headmaster’s conduct and other related matters.
Beyond the sexual harassment allegations, it identified weak security, staff divisions, student gangs and a breakdown of trust within the school community as factors contributing to the unrest.
The report’s findings concern the evidence examined during that inquiry. GES has since constituted another committee to investigate the fresh allegations highlighted by JoyNews, and has interdicted the Headmaster following a JoyNews investigation.
Source: Myjoyonline
