The suspended headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS), Zakaria Abdulai, has disclosed that he was cautioned and granted self-recognisance bail by the Police following a rape allegation against him by a female student.
Mr Abdulai’s comments come amid investigations into allegations of sexual abuse involving female students at the school, which were brought to public attention through JoyNews’ investigative report, Inside the Dreaded Headmaster’s Bungalow, by investigative correspondent Manasseh Azure Awuni.
The Minister for the Interior, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, first disclosed Mr Abdulai’s arrest when he appeared before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee on Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
“We’ve been able to get one of the ladies, maybe I shouldn’t be putting so much information out, about semen, we are getting DNA… So, what is happening is that this gentleman has been arrested. He’s going through the due process,” Mr Muntaka told the committee.
However, speaking in an interview with radio host Blakk Rasta, Mr Abdulai said the Police had cautioned him after a female student and her parents lodged a complaint against him.
“I have been cautioned because one girl and her parents said I have raped her. So they reported, I was cautioned, and as a headmaster I was given self-recognisance bail. I’m waiting for court days,” he said.
He suggested that his account of the incident differed from the allegations made against him and indicated that he intended to share his side of the story publicly.
“If I give you the turn of events for this particular girl who is claiming I have raped her, you’ll be shocked,” Mr Abdulai told the host.
Asked about the student during the interview, he said he did not know her personally but understood that she had a child. He added that he could not determine whether she was a good or bad person.
“I have my story, and the committee that did the investigation has heard my story. That is against the story of the girl and her people. Well, the committee that did the investigation heard my story and my story will soon be out,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Police have reportedly forwarded the docket in a case filed by one of the alleged victims to the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice for advice on the next course of action.
The allegations have also had political consequences for Mr Abdulai, who served as the National Democratic Congress (NDC) secretary for the Juaben Constituency. He withdrew from the contest for the constituency chairmanship following pressure from the party after the investigative report emerged.
In a separate development, Mr Abdulai has filed a defamation suit against Manasseh Azure Awuni and Multimedia Group Ghana Limited, the parent company of JoyNews, over the publication of allegations of sexual abuse involving female students at the school.
