When a Political Party Cannot Decide Whether to Protect Its Principles or Its Own Aspirant
Once upon a time in the Republic of Uncommon Sense, there lived a traffic policeman whose understanding of road safety depended entirely on which vehicle was approaching.
When a stranger arrived, he stepped into the road, raised his palm and ordered him to stop. When his brother appeared, he waved him through with great enthusiasm.
But when the public began asking questions, he raised his palm again and ordered everybody to stop. The confused motorists complained to his superior, who congratulated him for demonstrating remarkable flexibility in traffic management.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the latest episode of Ghana’s political circus, starring the National Democratic Congress and featuring one Zakaria Abdulai, the interdicted headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School.
On Sunday, 18 October, the NDC announced that Abdulai must withdraw from the Juaben Constituency chairmanship contest or face disqualification. Wonderful! The traffic light was red, and public confidence briefly found somewhere to park.
By Monday, however, the party had discovered another colour. After hearing from Abdulai, its Functional Executive Committee decided he could contest after all. The traffic light turned green. The explanation was natural justice, constitutional rights and the presumption of innocence.
Then came Tuesday, 20 October. Following further consideration, the party discovered that transparency and accountability were also important principles. The traffic light returned to red. Abdulai subsequently resigned as constituency secretary and withdrew from the chairmanship race.
Three days, three positions! Even the most confused trotro driver at Kejetia would have demanded directions.
But let us not mistake the comedy of political indecision for the gravity of the underlying matter.
Investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni’s documentary, Inside the Dreaded Headmaster’s Bungalow, examines disturbing allegations of sexual harassment, assault and rape involving female students.
Manasseh reported that the number of students alleging abuse had risen to at least sixteen. These are serious accusations, not established findings of guilt. Abdulai deserves a fair investigation and the presumption of innocence.
Yet this is precisely where the NDC’s political gymnastics become difficult to defend.
Nobody is suggesting that a political party should operate a criminal court. But must a man be convicted before an organisation exercises reasonable caution over who represents its leadership?
The Ghana Education Service interdicted the headmaster pending investigations. It did not need a judicial verdict to recognise the importance of safeguarding students and protecting public confidence.
Apparently, the NDC initially required a different kind of mathematics, where the seriousness of allegations must first be divided by the political rights of an aspirant, multiplied by internal electoral timetables and then referred to the Functional Executive Committee for further calculation.
The party’s eventual decision was welcome, but its journey there was an extraordinary exhibition of institutional wobbling.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Education Service has directed the Ashanti Regional Director of Education and the Obuasi Municipal Director to step aside during investigations. Such action raises important questions about how earlier complaints were handled and whether institutional failures allowed concerns to persist.
Was there negligence? Were complaints inadequately investigated? Did personal influence obstruct accountability? These are questions for investigators, not verdicts for newspaper columns. But they deserve answers, especially where the protection of students may have been compromised.
An Akan elder might remind us that when a child cries and points towards the forest, the wise adult investigates before dismissing the cry as an inconvenience.
Unfortunately, Ghanaian institutions sometimes behave as though the greatest danger is not what might have happened to the child, but what might happen to the reputation of the adult being investigated.
And here lies the NDC’s real problem.
A governing party that proclaims accountability cannot afford to treat ethical leadership like a funeral contribution, offered generously when the cameras are present and reconsidered when the family meeting begins.
Fairness is indispensable. So is the protection of complainants. Natural justice must never become a convenient excuse for institutional paralysis, just as public outrage must never replace due process.
For the students of Obuasi SHTS, the message must be unmistakable: their safety, dignity and right to be heard matter more than anybody’s constituency ambitions.
For the NDC, the lesson should be equally unmistakable. Political credibility is not preserved merely by correcting a questionable decision. It also depends on the judgement that produced the decision in the first place.
The party has finally found its brakes. Congratulations!
But when a political organisation needs three traffic signals in three days to discover where it should stop, perhaps the problem is not merely with the driver.
Someone should urgently inspect the steering committee.
Welcome to the Republic of Uncommon Sense, where political principles sometimes change faster than the traffic lights, and common sense must apply for clearance before entering the constituency office.