Former Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana National Youth Authority, Akosua Manu, has accused state agencies of failing to protect students who reported sexual abuse at Obuasi Senior High Technical School, saying authorities did not need a criminal conviction before taking protective measures.
She said the immediate responsibility of the state was to safeguard the girls, preserve any available evidence and prevent further abuse while investigations continued.
“The duty of the state first of all is to protect those concerned, in this case the girls. They should also move in to preserve any evidence if there is and most importantly to create an environment where the situation doesn’t occur,” she said on JoyNews’ Newsfile.
Manu argued that the Ghana Education Service, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection could have traced the alleged victims and taken steps to protect them without waiting for the headmaster, Zakaria Abdulai, to be convicted.
“Protective measures do not require a criminal conviction,” she said. She accused the state of failing to act despite the allegations and reports that had emerged about the school.
Manu said the priority should be the safety of the students rather than the political arguments surrounding the controversy.
“It goes beyond the politics at this point, but politics is what is bringing attention to this matter,” she said.
She urged the relevant institutions to ensure that students who may have suffered abuse received protection and that measures were put in place to prevent similar incidents.
Manu stressed that Abdulai was entitled to due process, but said that did not absolve state agencies of their responsibility to protect students while the case was being investigated.
