The President of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Ghana, Gloria Ofori-Boadu, has described the alleged sexual abuse involving the headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School as a “first degree felony” and argued that the offence should not be bailable.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, October 24, she said the seriousness of the allegations and the potential danger to society should be considered in decisions regarding bail.
“Secondly, we want to see the charge sheets, the bill of indictment. This is an indictable offence because it’s, I’ll call it a first degree felony. It’s so bad,” she said.
She added that although bail decisions depend on the discretion of the court, the alleged conduct should be considered when assessing whether the accused poses a danger to society.
“We want to see how it translates into prosecution, the trial, right from the beginning to the final decision of the court. And even if there’s a jail sentence, we want to see him entering the jail place,” she said.
Madam Ofori-Boadu said FIDA Ghana wanted to follow the case through every stage of the justice process, from the charges filed by the police to the trial and the court’s final decision.
“We even believe that this is not a bailable offence because at the end of the day, even though bail depends on the discretion of the court and all that, there’s a need to look at the danger to society that this person has, seems to always indicate that he’s dangerous,” she added.
The FIDA Ghana president also criticised the Ghana Education Service (GES), arguing that its policies on how teachers accused of sexual assault are handled require review.
She said the organisation had already issued a statement on the matter and had been engaging the media to educate the public on the issue.
According to her, the GES must account to taxpayers for its handling of cases involving teachers accused of sexual misconduct, particularly where disciplinary measures such as interdiction, dismissal, transfer or promotion have been applied.
Madam Ofori-Boadu said the organisation was also concerned about the wider cost of sexual abuse to victims and the country, particularly its impact on the mental and physical well-being of those affected.
“The cost to the nation of depriving the mental health and physical wellbeing of one citizen is very huge,” she said.
She urged the media to help monitor the case by seeking information on the charges and the prosecution process to ensure that the matter is followed through to its conclusion.