Prof Nana Oppong, a private legal practitioner
Prof Nana Oppong, a private legal practitioner, has stated that Juliet Asante’s long silence over her sexual harassment claim undermines the credibility of the allegation.
He made this assertion during an interview with GhanaWeb on March 8, 2025, which marked the celebration of International Women’s Day.
Speaking on the injustices women face in the corporate environment, the law professor, condemned the alleged incident of sexual harassment on the actress and former executive secretary of National Film Authority (NFA).
“Sexual harassment is an illness that sins against the dignity and freedom of women; it injures their ability to enjoy work and to excel at their profession.
“I sincerely wish Julie Asante healing. Sexual harassment ought to be frowned upon by every man and woman; and same must be stopped or minimized by law, by equity and justice throughout,” he said.
He, however, added that the fact that the allegation by the actress had not been reported months after the incident, makes it a weak case.
He indicated that staying silent over a wrongful act for a long time can undermine the importance of the matter.
The legal practitioner stated that the absence of credible evidence either in person or in other forms of media to support her case make the issue murky.
“The law always favours the diligent and the wise. This means that in all cases in which a person alleges wrongdoing against another, the accuser must have a persuadable number of things in support his or her case: such as credible witnesses, audio, texts, videos, similar acts and so on.
“Keeping quiet after a wrong has been done undermines credibility. Delays in seeking help or complaining to the authorities after a wrong has been done undermines credibility. Maintaining friendly relations with an alleged wrongdoer after an alleged incident also undermines credibility,” he said.
He further argued that, for every reported case, the burden of proof lies with the accuser.
Therefore, the absence of evidence to support her claim makes her assertion questionable.
“Given that in every case, he who accuses has the burden of proof, everyone accused of a crime is deemed innocent under law, until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law,” he said.
It would be recalled that on March 2, 2025, Juliet Asante, revealed in a congratulatory note to her successor and colleague actress Kafui Danku, that two male bosses at the NFA sexually assaulted her during her tenure in office.
“I remember vividly a day when I was caught between two male bosses. One lifted me up bodily and shoved me into the arms of another, insisting that I give him a hug. The latter hugged me and made the comment ‘maybe, I am the one who will marry you one day’… that night, I scrubbed myself until my skin was tender… I felt dirty,” she revealed in a post on Facebook.
VPO/EB
Meanwhile, watch this Ghana Month special edition of People and Places as we hear the story of how the head of Kwame Nkrumah’s bronze statue was returned after 43 years, below:
