'NDC erred in handling Obuasi SHTS headmaster’s case' – Fifi Kwetey admits

National Democratic Congress (NDC) General Secretary Fifi Kwetey has admitted that the party’s handling of the Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS) headmaster’s case could have been better, acknowledging that it should have waited for the full evidence before making its initial decision.

He said the party’s decision to initially ask the headmaster, Julius, to step aside was taken before its leadership had access to the documentary that later exposed further details of the allegations against him.

Kwetey explained that the party had originally decided that the headmaster should withdraw from his position based on the information available at the time.

However, when the party formally met him on Monday, November 19, to hear his side of the allegations, he strongly denied the claims and presented them as a politically motivated attempt to destroy his reputation.

Kwetey said the headmaster’s explanation was convincing enough to make the party reconsider its initial position, particularly because those who appeared before the General Secretary’s office could not substantiate their allegations.

He admitted that the party had not anticipated the documentary’s broadcast later that evening, which would have provided additional evidence before they made their decision.

“What we couldn’t do, which on hindsight ought to have been done, was to pause that decision and watch that evidence properly. If we had heard about it, we would have said we should pause that decision and watch that evidence properly,” he stated on Joy News.

According to him, the documentary became a turning point because it presented information that had not been available to the party during its earlier engagement with the headmaster.

Kwetey said the party subsequently reviewed its position after watching the documentary and speaking directly with Manasseh Azure Awuni, whose investigative work brought further details of the matter to light.

He explained that the additional information made it clear that the allegations were more serious than the headmaster had presented during his meeting with the party.

“It was a game changer,” Kwetey said of the documentary, adding that the party would have maintained its original decision if it had seen the evidence before meeting the headmaster.

He described the experience as a lesson for the party, acknowledging that it should have taken more time to examine all available evidence before reaching a decision.