Member of Parliament for Sissala East and Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) board member Mohammed Issah Bataglia has weighed in on the NDC’s decision to allow suspended Obuasi Senior High Technical School headmaster Zakaria Abdulai to contest the party’s constituency chairmanship election despite ongoing sexual abuse allegations.
Speaking on Joy News’ AM Show on October 20, 2026, Bataglia acknowledged the public anger surrounding allegations of sexual abuse involving 19 female students but urged Ghanaians to consider the constitutional principle of presumption of innocence.
He said the allegations were particularly distressing because they involved young girls entrusted to the care of an educational institution.
“If you have taken your child to go for modelling and somebody who is entrusted with the mandate to model your child to become better future leaders tries to destroy them at that very tender age, clearly, it’s disheartening, and can break everybody’s spirit,” he said.
Bataglia stressed that the NDC did not support any conduct that could constitute a criminal offence, but argued that the matter must be handled in accordance with the law.
“We are not in any way or form in support of an individual’s conduct that is being seen as criminal against our laws in this country, but with that said, let’s also be mindful of the fact that we are not operating a banana country; we are governed by laws,” he said.
He cited Article 19 of the 1992 Constitution, which guarantees the presumption of innocence until a person is proven guilty.
His comments come after the NDC reversed its initial position that Abdulai should withdraw from the Juaben constituency chairmanship race or face disqualification. The party has said its decision to allow him to contest does not amount to clearing him of the allegations, which remain under investigation.
