Salaga South MP, Zuwera Mohammed Ibrahimah, has recounted how she was left unsettled after encountering a man she thought resembled the headteacher at the centre of sexual harassment allegations involving Obuasi Secondary Technical School (SHTS).
The MP said the encounter reinforced her concerns about the need for a National Sex Offenders Register to help track individuals implicated in sexual offences and prevent them from moving between communities without proper monitoring.
Contributing to a statement in Parliament by the Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, on the need for a national sex offenders register, the Salaga South MP said she encountered a man in the precinct of Parliament whom she thought looked like the Obuasi SHTS headteacher.
Also read: Parliament marks 150 Years of Mfantsipim, Ghana’s oldest secondary school
She said, “Last Friday I saw a gentleman around the Parliament Mosque, and he was asking directions, and he looked like Mr. Zakaria Abdulai. And even for me as an adult, I panicked, Mr. Speaker; that is the reality,” she told the House.
She expressed concern about the possibility of individuals accused of sexual misconduct being released from their positions and moving into other communities without adequate safeguards to prevent further abuse.
Hon. Zuwera Ibrahimah cited the riot by the Obuasi SHTS students between August 4 and 5 over complaints of sexual harassment allegedly involving the headteacher.
According to the MP, the complaints had persisted for a considerable period but were not adequately addressed until the students’ protest attracted media attention.
She commended journalists for bringing the allegations to public attention, saying their intervention helped Ghanaians understand what had been happening at the school.
The Salaga South MP also expressed mixed feelings about the Ghana Education Service’s decision to interdict the headteacher following the allegations.
“When I heard that the GES had interdicted the headteacher, I had mixed feelings. At first I was happy that at least the GES was acting. Second, I was worried that this man is being let loose into whichever community he comes from,” she said.
She argued that a National Sex Offenders Register would provide a mechanism for tracking individuals convicted of sexual offences and help prevent them from moving between communities and potentially repeating their crimes.
“Without that, Mr. Speaker, it just becomes a cycle of moving offenders from one area to another to continue,” she warned.
The Salaga South MP lamented that complaints involving sexual abuse of children are sometimes ignored, while some community members and politicians attempt to suppress such matters rather than ensure accountability.
The proposed National Sex Offenders Register is intended to strengthen the identification and monitoring of convicted offenders and improve safeguards for children and other vulnerable persons.