GES orders Ashanti and Obuasi education directors to step aside over headmaster abuse probe

The Ghana Education Service (GES) has ordered two senior education directors to step aside immediately as investigations continue into allegations of sexual misconduct involving the headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School, Zakaria Abdulai.

The directive affects the Ashanti Regional Director of Education, Dr William Amankrah Appiah, and the Obuasi Municipal Director of Education, Kwamena Owusu-Nketiah.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, October 20, the GES said the decision was intended to allow the investigation to proceed without interference or the perception of interference.

Both directors have been instructed to hand over their offices and all state property in their possession to the Deputy Ashanti Regional Director of

Education, Thomas Kwame Boateng.

The statement, signed by GES Head of Public Relations Daniel Fenyi, also rejected reports that Mr Abdulai had been cleared of the allegations.

“The public is urged to ignore any news making the rounds that the headmaster has been cleared,” it said.

The service confirmed that Mr Abdulai remains interdicted while investigations continue. The allegations against him have not been established.

The directive comes amid pressure from civil society organisations, including RISE-Ghana, over how complaints concerning the headmaster were handled.

A JoyNews investigation by Manasseh Azure Awuni reported that municipal authorities, education officials and other influential figures had received reports of alleged sexual abuse months before Mr Abdulai’s suspension.

Those findings have intensified scrutiny of when officials became aware of the complaints and what action they took.

The Education Ministry has directed the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service to investigate the allegations.

The National Democratic Congress has also directed Mr Abdulai to step aside from the Juaben Constituency chairmanship race pending the outcome of the CID investigation.

The developments place the handling of complaints by education authorities alongside the allegations against the headmaster at the centre of public concern.

The GES appealed for calm and urged stakeholders to support and cooperate with investigators as they work to establish the facts.

Mr Abdulai remains entitled to the presumption of innocence.

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