Sex for Grades: BBC chose unconventional approach because of power relations - Inusah Fuseini

Inusah Abdulai B. Fuseini, the MP for Tamale Central, has stated that the BBC Africa Eye exposè dubbed ‘Sex for Grades’ used an unconventional approach to investigative journalism because of the power relations between lecturers and student on university campuses.

Speaking on News File, the ranking member for the Legal, Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs committees said it will be extremely difficult to get students to come out willingly to testify against their lecturers that is why a non-student form Legon was used for the investigation.

“They wanted to demonstrate that when lecturers come in close proximity to the students, misconduct or inappropriate conduct occurs…that lecturers exploit the power relationship between them and their students and engage in misconduct and that was the essence of the video,” he explained.

He added, “Whether you look at the video from the point of view of the fact that sex did not occur or the fact that the principal agent, Kiki Mordi, was not a student…look at the context of the video… was she propositioned?”

Inusah Fuseini, however, noted that the investigators had chosen their victims already, therefore, their job was to investigate and bring out pictorial evidence or hardcore evidence to be able to link what they have been hearing with what they think is happening at the institution or place of work.

He said he is expected that more students will be able to bring out more evidence against the two lecturers who were incorporated in the BBC investigations.

“University of Ghana has a lot of lecturers they didn’t just settle on professor Gyampo… everybody must understand that they had the reason, the basis to investigative Prof Gyampo… that reason or basis might be proven in an investigation......but the fact is that they had reason to believe that what they were hearing about the two lecturers needed further investigations,” he stressed.

Two lecturers from University of Ghana, Dr Paul Kwame Butakor and Professor Ransford Edward Yaw Gyampo, were implicated in a BBC Africa Eye uncover investigation into what they termed as “Sex for Grades”.

In the documentary, the lecturers were allegedly embroiled in stories of sexual harassment as well as a wide array of abuses, including blackmailing students for sex in exchange for marks and admission to lewd comments and grooming.

After gathering dozens of testimonies, BBC Africa Eye sent undercover journalists posing as students inside the University of Ghana to capture footage of sexual harassment.

Meanwhile, the university in a statement has indicated, “the Business and Executive Committee of the University has taken a decision to interdict Prof. Ransford Gyampo and Dr. Paul Kwame Butakor, the two lecturers featured in the documentary to allow for further investigations into the matter. In line with University regulations, the two will be invited by the Anti-Sexual Harassment Committee to assist with further investigations into the BBC documentary”.