Ministry condemns cover up of alleged defilement

Accra, Nov. 13, GNA - The Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs (MOWAC), on Friday condemned attempts by Tamale Metropolitan Education Directorate to cover up an alleged defilement involving Mr Mohammed Sadick, a Chemistry Teacher of Tamale Girls Senior High School. A statement issued in Accra and signed by Ms Adiza Ofori-Adu, Public Relations Officer for MOWAC said "the Ministry is worried that the Tamale Metropolitan Education Directorate which is supposed to ensure the proper conduct of teachers would attempt to cover up such a heinous crime by the suspect who was involved in a similar offence at his previous school". The suspect now in the custody of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) at Tamale, was alleged to have invited the 16-year-old student, to the school's computer laboratory at 1900 hours and defiled her amidst wails.

"The headmistress of the school reported the incident to the Tamale Metropolitan Director of Education who constituted a disciplinary committee which called for the transfer of the teacher instead of reporting him to the police," it said. The statement reminded educational authorities that defilement was a serious crime under the country's laws and only the law courts could handle such cases.

It commended the Tamale Police Service especially personnel of DOVVSU for their vigilance and commitment to duty and urged them to thoroughly investigate the case to ensure that justice prevailed.