Obuasi SHS headmaster sues Manasseh Azure Awuni, Multimedia Group for GH¢2m over alleged defamation

Headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School, Zakaria Abdulai

The headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School, Zakaria Abdulai, has filed a defamation suit against investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni and the Multimedia Group Limited, seeking GH¢2 million in damages over alleged defamatory publications.

In a writ of summons and statement of claim filed at the High Court in Accra, Mr Abdulai is asking the court to declare statements allegedly made and published by the defendants about him as false, defamatory and malicious.

The suit, dated October 16, 2026, concerns publications the plaintiff says were made in May 2023 on Multimedia Group's broadcasting platforms, including Joy FM, Adom FM, MyJoyOnline and Joy TV, through programmes identified in the court documents as the Super Morning Show and its midmorning show.

According to the statement of claim, Mr Abdulai, a Director of Education with the Ghana Education Service (GES), is also a leading member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and serves as the party's secretary in the Juaben Constituency.

The plaintiff alleges that the publications accused him of sexually harassing female students at Obuasi Senior High Technical School.

He further claims that the publications alleged that a female student who had suffered sexual abuse presented a pair of shorts stained with his semen to the first defendant.

Mr Abdulai contends that the allegations were published without sufficient evidence to substantiate them and have seriously damaged his reputation as an educationist, school head and politician.

The statement of claim also alleges that similar accusations were made in August 2026 by some teachers at the school but were found to be false by a disciplinary body established by the Ghana Education Service.

He claims that the allegations subsequently led to his interdiction from office following a recommendation by the Minister of Education.

The plaintiff further argues that the publications portrayed him as a sexual offender and an unsuitable person to occupy the position of headmaster, thereby causing damage to his professional standing, personal reputation and marriage.

Mr Abdulai is asking the court for a perpetual injunction to restrain the defendants from making or publishing further allegedly defamatory statements about him.

In addition to the GH¢2 million in special damages, he is seeking general damages for defamation and costs.

The writ directs the defendants to enter an appearance within eight days after service, inclusive of the day of service, warning that judgment may be given in their absence if they fail to do so.

The document represents the plaintiff's allegations and claims. It does not establish that the allegations against the defendants have been proven in court.

The document does not contain a response from Manasseh Azure Awuni or the Multimedia Group Limited.