The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, has urged the media to protect the identities of the alleged victims in the Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS) sexual abuse case, warning that exposure could undermine the ongoing investigations. She made the appeal to journalists after engaging with the authorities of the school.
Dr Lartey disclosed that three of the alleged victims have expressed concern after hearing their names mentioned on some media platforms, which has made them reluctant to engage further with investigators for fear of being identified. She stated that safeguarding their identities is essential to preventing further trauma and encouraging their cooperation.
“I also want to assure them that a lot is going on to build trust between students and the teachers in terms of their safety and security.”
Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey
Dr Lartey explained that three of the alleged victims raised their concerns after hearing their names on some media platforms. The mention has left them unwilling to deal further with investigators, because they fear that other people will identify them.
Her warning ties media coverage directly to the progress of the investigations. Exposure, she cautioned, could undermine the work investigators are carrying out.
Voices Can Still Identify Students
The Minister pointed out that withholding names offers only partial protection. Some students, she disclosed, could still be identified by their colleagues through their voices, even when their names are not mentioned during media interviews. Such recognition would bring them the same fear.
A student who speaks on air without a name may still be recognized by classmates who know the voice, and that recognition brings the same fear that has already unsettled the three alleged victims.
The case involves allegations of sexual misconduct against the school’s suspended Headmaster, Zakaria Abdulai, involving female students. The matter remains under investigation, and the Minister’s appeal rests on the need to let that process run its course.
Dr Lartey appealed to media practitioners to exercise caution in their coverage of the case. She stressed the need to protect the privacy, dignity and welfare of the alleged victims.
Safeguarding their identities, she stated, is essential to preventing further trauma and encouraging their cooperation with the ongoing investigations. Her appeal therefore serves two aims. It shields young people from additional harm, and it keeps them willing to assist the inquiry.
School Reopens as Students Return
Dr Lartey responded that school has commenced for the continuing students, while the first-year students have been in school since the school reopened. She then used the opportunity to address parents and students directly.
“Let me use your medium to appeal to parents and students that the Obuasi Senior High has reopened and there’s been circulars to that effect, and we are asking students to return to campus whilst security has been put in place.”
Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey
The Minister assured parents and students that much work is under way to build trust between students and teachers, with their safety and security as the focus.
She also clarified the role of her Ministry. As the Ministry of Gender, she stated, it is “here to support the structures that exist within the GES system”, meaning the Ghana Education Service. The Ministry, in her account, works alongside those structures rather than replacing them.
Privacy and Safety Remain the Priority
Taken together, the Minister’s remarks addressed two concerns that now face the school community. One is the safety of students returning to campus, and the other is the privacy of those who have made allegations.
She asked the media to help with the second by exercising caution, and she asked parents and students to help with the first by returning to a campus where, she assured them, security has been put in place.
Dr Lartey’s appeal places a responsibility on media practitioners. How they handle names, voices and details in the coming weeks will influence whether the alleged victims continue to cooperate with investigators, and whether the process that the Minister wants to protect can reach a conclusion.
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