The Mayor of Kumasi, Richard Ofori Agyemang Boadi, has disclosed that he cautioned the interdicted headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS), Zakaria Abdulai, against allowing female students to visit his residence following concerns about his conduct.

Mr Agyemang Boadi said he intervened to prevent further concerns and avoid worsening negative perceptions about the headmaster in Obuasi.

Speaking before Parliament’s Local Government Committee, the mayor explained that he had known Mr Abdulai for several years and decided to speak with him after someone drew his attention to the alleged conduct during a visit to Obuasi.

“I admonished him and asked him not to allow female students to come so that the perception being created about him in Obuasi would not be fuelled,” he said.

The disclosure comes amid allegations of sexual misconduct involving 19 female students at the school, which prompted the Ghana Education Service (GES) to interdict Mr Abdulai pending investigations.

Mr Agyemang Boadi also dismissed suggestions that he was shielding the headmaster from accountability, insisting that he had neither direct supervisory authority over him nor any influence over disciplinary decisions concerning the case.

“I don’t have any direct supervisory role over the headmaster. I don’t have anything to do with whether he was going to be sanctioned or not. So I cannot, with any shred of imagination, be covering him up,” he said.

Investigations into the allegations are ongoing.