It was clear gov’t wanted to cover up Obuasi SHTS sexual abuse – Akosua Manu

The Advisor on Gender and Social Protection to former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has accused state institutions of failing to act promptly on the alleged sexual abuse of 19 female students of the Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS).

According to Akosua Manu, the response by the Ghana Education Service (GES), including its decision to extend the mandate of the committee investigating the allegations by another week, is reactionary and exposes weaknesses in the systems for handling sexual abuse cases in schools.

Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Friday, November 6, following a protest by members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Women's Wing over the incident, Ms Manu alleged that there had been attempts to cover up the matter until public pressure forced authorities to act.

“So what he's saying now is just reactionary; clearly there are no systems in place that follow up on such allegations. It is also clear there are persons who covered up but for public outreach,” she said.

She said that the problem extended beyond public senior high schools, insisting that similar concerns could arise in private educational institutions if effective reporting and accountability systems were not established.

Ms Manu also criticised President John Mahama for not publicly addressing the allegations, describing the incident involving a headmaster and 19 female students as unprecedented in the country's history.

“And mind you, as we speak, think about it and the president himself has been out multiple times and on public platforms has never addressed it, this incident where a head teacher in a school has sexually assaulted 19 girls. In the history of this country, nothing of this nature has ever happened,” she said.

She questioned the government's commitment to protecting women and girls, arguing that public silence over the allegations contradicted claims of championing gender equality.

“So it cannot be that you parade yourself as a champion of all things gender, that you are pro-women and something like this is happening to future leaders of this country and they're silent,” she added.

Ms Manu further accused institutions, including the GES, law enforcement agencies and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, of failing to demonstrate urgency until the matter attracted public attention.

“If we not bring attention to this matter, it will get swept under the carpet like other issues have been,” she said.

Ms Manu also called on the police to provide a detailed account of the investigations, including the steps taken so far to address the allegations.

“We've not even had a presser, an up-to-date chronological order from even the police led by a female, the CID boss, in this matter. Just give us a blueprint of what you have done in spite of this issue,” she said.

She urged the authorities to establish whether there could be other potential victims, noting that the headmaster had previously taught at other schools.

According to her, the handling of the case could discourage other victims and witnesses from coming forward.

“There are people who are willing to speak up but having observed how this thing has been handled, it's clear there's no protection for the victims,” she said.