Helen Adewonuola, a naturalized Brazilian from Nigeria, has accused Mr. Samuel Kofi
Dadey Ghana's Ambassador to Brazil of sexual harassment. In her plea filed with the
Brazilian Labor authorities she claimed damages against the Ghana Embassy in Brazil
to the tune of $30,000. In her filings, Mrs. Adewonuola claimed that she had sex
with the embattled Ambassador on six separate occasions, but she has since made
inconsistent statements to the media claiming she slept with the Ambassador 'only'
four times.
Are we so hungry for tabloid-style, Nigerian-movie-type scandalous and dramatic
stories so much so that we will vacate our sense of fairness and critical analysis
even in the face of blatant attack on Ghana's international and diplomatic image? It
has become almost impossible to implore majority of our people to analyze events
independent of media hype and prejudices. Sadly, it is also becoming a channel for
public policies and official mandates; where tabloid media analysis reflects
official reactions.
Whether or not we know and appreciate the fact that Ambassador Samuel Kofi Dadey
represented Ghana in Brazil as a national figure should not interfere with the idea
that to slander him unjustly will be an eyesore to Ghana as a country. This is why
the United States spends untold amounts of money on public relations to support
their representatives no matter what. The general premise is that if they carefully
vetted and approved an individual to represent them diplomatically or otherwise,
then he or she is worthy of their unequivocal trust and support because they have
vested and entrusted the image of the country to his/her discretion.
In this article, I want to take the liberty to critically examine the alleged chain
of events culminating in the discovery of our local tabloid media's latest victim.
FACT: His Excellency Ambassador Samuel Kofi Dadey has been Ghana's ambassador to the
Federal Republic of Brazil since August 16th 2006. He is widely considered in
Brazilian diplomatic and business circles not only as an exemplary Ghanaian
professional but an iconic African visionary. Can we afford to take the word of a
scorned stranger and a couple of disgruntled subordinates over his?
FACT: The case was filed against the Ghana Embassy and the complainant had 2
disgruntled Ghanaian Embassy staff members Ahmed Tijani Abubakar (1st secretary and
nephew of ex vice president Alliu Mahama) and Rosemary Ayeley Ceylon the embassy’s
confidential secretary as her witnesses. Attached to Mrs. Helen Adewonuola's
petition are her confidential personnel files from the embassy. How did she get
copies of her "CONFIDENTIAL" personnel files; hmmm!
FACT: Mrs. Helen Adewonuola is married, she and her husband are very good friends to
Mr. Abubakar the disgruntled first secretary of the Ghana Embassy in Brazil, who
happens to be from the same town as Ghana's Minister of Foreign Affairs Alhaji
Muhammed Mumuni and also the nephew of Ghana’s former vice president Alliu Mahama…
wow!! Also the principal "witness"
Mrs. Adewonuola is an assertive Nigerian/Brazilian woman who is very conversant with
the Brazilian labor laws especially with regards to sexual harassment. She is also
fluent in Portuguese- the official language of Brazil (one of the main reasons she
was hired at the Ghana Mission)
FACT : In early May, 2010 the Ghana Embassy in Brazil received notice from the Labor
Tribunal of Brasilia that Mrs. Helen Ada Adewonuala had filed a case for moral
damages to the tune of about US$30,000 against the Embassy for the following three
reasons:
1. THE RE-DESIGNATION OF HER POSITION AT THE EMBASSY FROM AMBASSADOR'S SOCIAL
SECRETARY TO SECRETARY RECEPTIONIST, AN OCCURRENCE THAT SHE CLAIMED HAD HUMILIATED
HER IN THE EYES OF HER COLLEAGUES AND MADE HER LIFE VERY MISERABLE;
2. THE NON-PAYMENT OF OVERTIME AND ACTING ALLOWANCES DUE HER FOR a)WORKING BEYOND
THE 8HOUR PER DAY STIPULATED IN BRAZIL'S LABOUR LAWS, AND, b) STANDING IN FOR OTHER
STAFF WHO HAD PROCEEDED ON LEAVE;
3. SEXUAL HARASSMENT BY THE AMBASSADOR, FOR WHICH REASON SHE WAS EMULATED BY THE
CHANGE OF SCHEDULE AND DENIED PAYMENT OF HER OVERTIME AND ACTING ALLOWANCES.
Before we rush to any premature conclusions let us understand some basic flaws in
the chain of alleged events.
• How does anyone make a case against the Embassy with supporting documents from
the mission's confidential personnel files? How did she get the said files?
• Given her assertiveness, knowledge of the Brazilian labor laws and general
awareness of her civil rights, why did Mrs. Adewonuola "GIVE IN" multiple times
(six? five? or four?) before crying foul?
• Is there a political conspiracy here? What about subversion by Ghanaian Embassy
employees? I smell something fishy, don't you? At the least some violation of civil
service code of conduct.
• I will just settle for a combo of 419 and PHD (Pull-Him-Down) scheme.
It is my sincere hope that the government of Ghana will pay close attention to the
serious attack on the image of our dear country. As much as I applaud the decision
of the government to diffuse the tense situation at the mission by recalling H.E.
Ambassador Dadey, I implore the authorities to thoroughly investigate the matter and
treat all parties involved fairly.
Disclaimer: I wrote this article purely from a concerned citizen's point of view. I
collected basic public information from credible sources for this article. I have
never met, or spoken to any of the personalities involved in this case.
Read more articles like this on my blog www.FreduaDankwaJr.com
