Obuasi SHTS sexual abuse: Zakaria Abdulai is a free man now, as I know – Manasseh

JoyNews investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni says the suspended headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS), Zakaria Abdulai, is moving freely despite allegations of sexual abuse involving female students.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, October 24, Mr Awuni said that, to his knowledge, the headmaster had not been detained and was able to move around following his engagement with the police.

“Zakaria, as far as I know, is a free man at least for now because I left Obuasi on the 25th of August and at the time, he hadn't been arrested,” he said.

Mr Azure explained that although there had been reports of an attack on the headmaster by students, he understood that the incident was being used as a reason to allow him to recover.

"They claimed he had been attacked, I think, on the 4th by the rioting students, so they wanted him to heal."

He also recounted claims that the father of one of the alleged victims had been contacted by the police and that there had been an attempt to settle the matter privately.

“But even before that, the girl's father said the police had called him. The man wanted them to sit down and settle so that the case wouldn't go out, and the girl's father said no,” he said.

According to Mr Awuni, the headmaster had subsequently indicated on other platforms that he had been cautioned by the police and granted self-recognisance bail.

“He literally walked to the police. They listened to his story and then said you can go,” the journalist added.

Mr Awuni further claimed that the headmaster had been in Accra recently to meet the NDC Functional Executive, arguing that he continued to move around despite the allegations.

The controversy follows a JoyNews investigation by Mr Azure, titled Inside the Dreaded Headmaster’s Bungalow, which detailed allegations of sexual abuse involving female students at the school.

One of the cases concerns a 20-year-old student who alleged that Mr Abdulai raped her at his official residence on campus on July 25, 2026.

According to a police statement, the student reported the incident to the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit in Obuasi on August 4, accompanied by her father. She further alleged that the headmaster gave her GH¢100 to keep quiet. The allegations remain under investigation.

The investigation also reported that complaints about alleged sexual abuse had been brought to the attention of school management, education officials and other authorities months before the headmaster’s suspension.

Following the revelations, Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu directed the Ghana Education Service (GES) to suspend Mr Abdulai and referred the matter to the Criminal Investigations Department for investigation.

Interior Minister Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak subsequently disclosed on October 20 that the headmaster had been arrested in connection with the allegations.

Police investigations have included efforts to obtain DNA evidence, while the case docket has been forwarded to the Attorney-General’s Office for advice.

Mr Abdulai has denied wrongdoing and has said he was cautioned and granted self-recognisance bail. He has also resigned as Juaben Constituency Secretary of the National Democratic Congress and withdrawn from the constituency chairmanship race amid the controversy.

The allegations have triggered public concern and calls for a thorough investigation into both the claims against the headmaster and the handling of earlier complaints by school and education authorities.