Investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has called on the Ghana Education Service (GES) to ensure that allegations of sexual abuse in schools are promptly reported to the police, cautioning that lengthy internal administrative procedures could delay investigations and result in the loss of crucial evidence.
He argued that allegations involving rape or sexual abuse should not be subjected to prolonged institutional processes before law enforcement agencies are notified. Instead, he stressed the importance of immediately involving the police and securing medical examinations to preserve evidence that could support subsequent prosecutions.
“This is a criminal matter, to hell with those protocols. Get that child to the police first, get her a police report, a medical report, and that can preserve very vital pieces of evidence that would be needed during the prosecution,” he stated.
Azure made the remarks in an interview with journalists on the sidelines of the 3rd Samira Bawumia Literature Prize Awards Ceremony and Literary Night. He was responding to questions about developments surrounding allegations of sexual abuse involving female students of Obuasi Senior High Technical School.
His comments follow his investigative documentary, Inside the Dreaded Headmaster’s Bungalow, which exposed allegations of sexual abuse involving students of the school and its headmaster, Zakaria Abdulai.
He said the incident should be a wake-up call for the GES, noting that he had received reports of similar cases involving teachers and headteachers allegedly impregnating students under their supervision. Azure further urged the public to move beyond the political arguments surrounding protests over the Obuasi case and instead focus on ensuring justice for the alleged victims.
According to him, the girls had reportedly voiced their concerns for more than a year without receiving a response, making public calls for justice crucial to achieving accountability. He stressed the need for greater accountability from the police handling the investigation, the Attorney-General’s Department, and the GES. “We must rise above the politics and insist on genuine accountability from the police conducting the investigation and prosecution, the Attorney-General’s Department, and the GES,” he said.
