Former National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Amenfi Central, Peter Kwakye Ackah, has called on the party to disqualify Obuasi Senior High Technical School headmaster Zakaria Abdulai from its upcoming constituency elections over allegations of sexual abuse involving students.
Mr Abdulai, who is accused of sexually abusing about 16 students, is contesting the chairmanship of the NDC in the Juaben constituency.
Speaking in an interview, Mr Ackah said the party should not allow membership to shield anyone facing such serious allegations.
“Nobody should shield such a person after he has raped someone’s child just because he’s a party member,” Mr Ackah said.
The Ghana Education Service (GES) has interdicted Mr Abdulai following a JoyNews investigation by Manasseh Azure Awuni. A complaint has also been lodged with the police.
Mr Ackah urged the constituency vetting committee to prevent the headmaster from contesting, warning that allowing him to lead the party could damage its reputation.
“I am appealing to the constituency vetting committee not to allow such a person to lead the party; he will collapse the party.”
He also called on the NDC’s national leadership to suspend Mr Abdulai, insisting that the allegations should not be overlooked because of his political affiliation.
The former MP further appealed to President John Dramani Mahama, Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu and Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak to intervene in the matter.
“I’m appealing to the President to take it up and give the order to the Minister. Haruna, you must not sit on this at all.”
Mr Ackah also criticised the Obuasi Municipal Chief Executive, accusing her of failing to act appropriately after the family of one of the alleged victims approached her for assistance.
“The girl is even ashamed to come out, so since her parents have come to you, why didn’t you take action… what is happening?” he questioned.
He defended the student unrest that brought the allegations into the public domain, arguing that the students resorted to taking matters into their own hands because they believed the law was not working.
He warned that such incidents could become more common if people lose confidence in the ability of authorities to enforce the law.
The GES has said the unrest resulted in damage to school property and the temporary closure of the institution.
