I expect the Vice President to have visited the Obuasi SHTS sexual abuse victims by now – Otiko Djaba

Former Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Otiko Afisah Djaba, has called on Vice-President Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang to visit the alleged victims of sexual abuse at the Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS), saying that a call for the law to take its course is not enough to address their immediate needs.

She said the Vice-President should demonstrate a stronger commitment to the welfare of the affected students by engaging directly with them and ensuring they receive the support and protection they need.

Speaking in an interview with JoyNews about the allegations involving the Obuasi SHTS headmaster, she questioned what was being done to protect the girls while investigations continued.

Her comments follow a statement by Prof Opoku-Agyemang calling for the law to take its course in the sexual assault case, which she described as a serious national concern with implications for both present and future generations.

Read also: Let the law take its course in Obuasi SHTS abuse exposé – Vice-President Opoku-Agyemang

However, Ms Djaba said the response should go beyond allowing the legal process to run its course, stressing that the welfare of the alleged victims must remain a priority.

When asked whether she was dissatisfied with the Vice-President’s comments, Ms Djaba redirected attention to the immediate needs of the students.

“While the law is taking its course, what’s happening to the children?” she asked.

“I would have expected by now that she herself would go there,” she said.

Ms Djaba said her call for the Vice-President to take a more active role was not about restricting her responsibilities to issues affecting women because of her gender.

Rather, she said that the Vice-President’s position presented an opportunity to demonstrate leadership on matters affecting women and children, particularly when their safety was at stake.

She recalled that the Vice-President had appealed to women for their support during the election campaign, while the President had also highlighted the historic significance of having a woman elected to the country’s second-highest political office.

“She did, during the campaign, ask for women to vote for her. The President also did, because for her party, if they won, then she would be the first woman to be Vice President of this country.”

Ms Djaba said that achievement should be accompanied by a strong commitment to addressing challenges affecting women and children.

“It’s not about gender boxing,” she said.

“Nobody is saying that because you are a woman and you are a vice; only focus on women.”

She said the Vice-President should recognise the responsibility that comes with holding such a high office, particularly as Ghana’s first female Vice-President.

“When you have been given this huge opportunity, to whom much is given, much is expected,” Ms Djaba said.

She added that women and children should remain an important consideration in national decision-making and that issues affecting their welfare must be treated seriously.

“The responsibility of the fact that you are the first woman to be in the highest position that Ghana has ever seen, means that you must also look at, that’s your constituency, the women and the children. Whatever affects us must be something that you must act on seriously.”

The former minister also questioned the time taken to address the allegations, saying that an earlier response could have prevented further harm to students.

She expressed concern about the period dating back to April 2025, suggesting that the failure to act decisively at the time had allowed the situation to worsen.

“The law, as we have seen, has failed us. The system has failed the girls,” she said.

“If this thing had been addressed in April of 2025, do you think we would be talking about 19 girls? No, it wouldn’t have gotten to that. It wouldn’t have,” she said.

She further said that an earlier intervention by the Vice President could have helped prevent other girls from allegedly being assaulted.

“If she had interfered, intervened in 2025, would we be talking about 19 girls? We would have avoided all these other girls being assaulted,” she said.

“And that is my pain,” she added.

Ms Djaba also criticised what she described as the lack of a sufficiently strong public response from President John Mahama, saying that he should speak out clearly on the allegations.

She said the President had a responsibility to demonstrate that the protection of children and the enforcement of the law were more important than political affiliations.

“And the President of Ghana, what has he said? He’s the father of all of us,” she said.

Acknowledging that the person at the centre of the allegations was a member of the governing party, Ms Djaba insisted that political considerations should not prevent the President from addressing the matter.

“Yes, the person is a member of his party. But even if it is your child who has committed a crime against Ghana, you must speak up and let the people of Ghana know,” she said.

“If you spoke, I don’t think the police and these other institutions would be dilly-dallying and fooling around with what they are doing,” she added.