A JoyNews investigation by Manasseh Azure Awuni has revealed that education officials, municipal authorities and other influential figures had received complaints about alleged sexual abuse involving the suspended headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School, Zakaria Abdulai, months before the Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, directed the Ghana Education Service (GES) to suspend him.

The investigation, titled Inside the Dreaded Headmaster’s Bungalow, examines allegations of sexual harassment, assault and rape involving female students of the school.

It found that complaints and petitions from students, parents and teachers had been submitted to school management, education officials and other authorities, but no effective action was taken for more than a year, according to accounts and documents gathered during the investigation.

Mr Abdulai has since been suspended following the controversy.

The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Obuasi, Faustilove Appiah Kannin, said she received a report about the alleged abuse shortly after assuming office.

She told JoyNews: “I was there when the former sports master of the school called me to inform me that the headmaster had slept with one of the students. As a mother and a municipal chief executive, I had to invite the parent.”

Asked when the incident was reported, she responded: “I think it was last year, early last year.”

Complaints to education authorities

The Obuasi West Municipal Director of Education, George Alfred Koomson, confirmed to the investigation that five girls from the school reported alleged sexual assault by the headmaster to his office in March 2026.

Mr Koomson declined to speak on record when Manasseh Azure Awuni visited his office, explaining that the latest case was being investigated by the Ashanti Regional Education Directorate.

However, he reportedly confirmed that he had invited the five girls to his office after receiving a report from the school’s safeguarding officer.

Three of the girls, he said, submitted written complaints against Mr Abdulai.

Mr Koomson told the investigator that he fell seriously ill shortly after receiving the complaints, and the allegations reported to his office in March were not investigated before a further alleged rape on July 25.

In February 2026, the school’s Girl Child Coordinator and the teacher responsible for safeguarding had also petitioned the school’s management over what they described as a growing number of sexual assault complaints against the headmaster.

The two teachers called for an “immediate, impartial, and confidential investigation into the matter”.

The investigation found that the petition, like the complaints submitted to the municipal education director, was not acted upon.

Manasseh Azure Awuni also said he obtained written complaints from alleged victims detailing their accounts of sexual abuse. Some parents had separately petitioned authorities to intervene, while the school’s old students’ association submitted a petition in July calling for an investigation.

Alleged interventions by political figures

The investigation also found that some influential figures had intervened following reports of alleged sexual abuse involving Mr Abdulai.

Kumasi Mayor Richard Ofori-Agyemang Boadi, popularly known as Zuba, who is a native of Obuasi and the son of the town’s chief, said he had previously advised the headmaster and a housemistress on safeguarding female students amid the allegations.

He said he had also invited Mr Abdulai to his office in Kumasi and cautioned him about the allegations.

Recounting how he first became aware of the matter, the mayor told JoyNews:

“So I went to Obuasi one day, and it was all over that there was heat at Obuasi Sec Tech, and the boys were going to riot that evening.

"I was told that there’s an allegation that the headmaster of the school had molested one of the female students. And the headmaster is someone who’s been known to me for so many years, even before I became the mayor of Obuasi. So I asked that they call him for me."

The mayor also confirmed attending a meeting involving the headmaster and Adwoa Yeboah, a housemistress named by one of the alleged victims as having told her not to disclose an alleged rape.

Mr Ofori-Agyemang Boadi said the meeting was intended to address the reports and find ways to safeguard the girls, rather than protect the headmaster.

Madam Yeboah confirmed attending the meeting and receiving GH¢1,000 but denied that the money was a bribe to shield Mr Abdulai.

Several senior NDC officials reportedly confirmed that the meeting took place, including the Obuasi West MCE, Faustilove Appiah Kannin.

Former NDC organiser makes further allegations.

Frederick Addai, 52, a former National Democratic Congress (NDC) constituency organiser in Obuasi East, told the investigation that Mr Abdulai had admitted to him, before the latest alleged rape incident, that he had sexually assaulted a female student.

Mr Addai said he advised the headmaster to stop having sexual relations with students and claimed that Mr Abdulai did not deny the conduct when confronted.

He further alleged that some NDC functionaries in the Ashanti Region had intervened in previous cases involving the headmaster.

According to Mr Addai, senior party figures had met in Obuasi when one of the scandals threatened to expose Mr Abdulai. He also alleged that some of the officials contacted Madam Yeboah and asked her not to corroborate allegations against the headmaster.

Madam Yeboah was identified by one alleged victim as having asked her to keep quiet after the alleged rape.

Mr Addai also accused David Adama, an NDC executive in the Obuasi East Constituency, of rallying senior party figures to intervene on the headmaster’s behalf when allegations emerged.

Mr Adama declined to grant a recorded interview but denied Mr Addai’s allegation that he regularly mobilised party officials to intervene in cases involving Mr Abdulai.

The investigation cited multiple sources who alleged that the headmaster benefited from political connections that helped him avoid accountability.

Mr Abdulai is also the NDC constituency secretary for Juabeng in the Ashanti Region.

Housemistress and headmaster respond

The school’s senior housemistress, Miriam Ali Bawah, agreed to an on-camera interview but denied allegations that she had shielded the headmaster.

She claimed the girls had been coached to make allegations against Mr Abdulai and suggested that some teachers disliked him.

Mr Abdulai declined to comment on the allegations when contacted by JoyNews, saying the police and the Ghana Education Service were investigating the matter.

The investigation also reported that some parents had withdrawn their complaints following pressure from opinion leaders who intervened on behalf of the headmaster.

The allegations against Mr Abdulai remain allegations and are subject to investigation.

The Education Minister’s directive to the GES to suspend him followed the controversy surrounding the allegations.