Former Information Minister Fatimatu Abubakar has alleged that the sexual abuse claims involving Obuasi Senior High Technical School headmaster Zakaria Abdulai were covered up because of his alleged political connections.
Fatimatu, a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), said she had watched the documentary by Manasseh Azure Awuni’s team at Multimedia, along with interviews involving the headmaster and other people connected to the case, before reaching her conclusions.
She said she believed the students who had made the allegations and suspected that efforts had been made to shield the alleged perpetrator because of his connections to influential people.
“I have come to only one conclusion,” she said on Keypoints on TV3. “One, I believe the victims, all 19 of them. Two, I believe crimes have been committed. Three, I believe there is a cover-up of those crimes.”
Fatimatu argued that the handling of the case appeared inconsistent with how authorities dealt with other suspects, including people accused of offences relating to free speech and illegal mining.
“ I believe the cover-up was occasioned by the fact that the alleged perpetrator is politically exposed and is connected with high people in high places and powerful political people,” she alleged.
She said the students had followed the appropriate channels to report their concerns but were failed by adults and institutions expected to protect them.
“It is so heartbreaking how a country of God-fearing people have failed these students, these girls who did every single thing right to seek justice, but were failed every step of the way,” she said.
