The headteacher of Sammo Senior High School in the Central Region has threatened legal action against award-winning Ghanaian rapper Teephlow over an incident involving a Form One female student during the school’s Homecoming Artiste Night.
The headteacher, who appeared visibly upset in a video circulating on social media, accused the rapper, born Lukeman Ekow Baidoo, of taking advantage of the student after she was seen twerking on stage while he performed.
He described the incident as inappropriate and a violation of the school’s values and child safeguarding standards, arguing that the student was a minor and should have been protected from conduct he considered exploitative.
Addressing students, the headteacher expressed disappointment that a first-year student had participated in the performance, repeatedly describing her actions as embarrassing and indecent.
“I found one of you; sadly, I found one girl on the stage who was shaking her backside.
“It’s not funny. It is not funny. It is not funny. It is embarrassing.
“If you find that funny, then you’re a bad girl. You’re an indecent girl. Is that what you want me to describe you as?
“A Form One girl, an ordinary Form One girl, was shaking her backside,” he said.
He subsequently turned his criticism towards Teephlow, who was the artiste performing when the student went on stage, accusing him of taking advantage of the young girl.
“And sadly, sadly, sadly, she was shaking her backside to the artist of the night, the so-called Teephlow.
“It is most, most unfortunate.
“Because from where I sit, I have the belief that he took advantage of my girl, and I’m taking serious action against him,” the headteacher said.
He described the incident as exploitation and abuse, insisting that the rapper had been engaged and paid to perform at the school event and was not expected to engage in conduct that could compromise the welfare of students.
“This is exploitation. This is abuse of the highest order. I will not tolerate that.
“If for nothing at all, the contract with him was clear. We paid him. There was consideration paid. He didn’t come to the show for free. We didn’t ask him to come and abuse our girls as part of the process. We will not do that,” he added.
Headteacher Says Student Should Be Treated as a Victim
The headteacher also emphasised that the student’s age should be considered in assessing the incident, saying minors involved in such situations should initially be treated as victims.
“You are minors. Whenever these things happen, you firstly will be treated as a victim,” he told the students.
He questioned why an adult performer would engage in what he considered inappropriate conduct at a private school, particularly one that had invested considerable effort in building a reputation for protecting its students.
“For what reason on earth would a gentleman, an adult party, come and do a thing like that in the school, a private school like that?
“Private school. You call a girl forward, and then you rub her backside. How sensible is that?” he asked.
He explained that the school had spent considerable time building public confidence in its standards and reassuring parents that their children would be protected, particularly those enrolled in its boarding house.
The headteacher recalled that some parents had initially been reluctant to send their daughters to the boarding house but eventually agreed after the school emphasised its commitment to safeguarding students.
He said the institution’s in loco parentis principle, under which it assumes certain parental responsibilities while students are in its care, had been central to building that trust.
He expressed concern that the incident, which had been captured on video and circulated online, could undermine the school’s reputation and the confidence parents had placed in it.
School Threatens Legal Action Against Teephlow
The headteacher made it clear that the school intended to pursue the matter, warning that it would not overlook what he described as the abuse of one of its female students.
He said the school would take serious action against Teephlow and wanted the rapper to be held accountable for the incident.
“So we’re going to bring an action seriously against that gentleman, to ensure that he comes to his knees before we continue.
“We will not take this. Let the message go out clearly to him that an action is coming his way.
“We will treat this as a serious abuse of our female students. We will not take that,” he said.
The headteacher’s comments amount to a threat of legal action, but the material available for this report does not establish that a suit has been filed.
The video and the headteacher’s account also do not, on their own, establish that Teephlow physically touched or sexually abused the student. His allegation that the rapper took advantage of her remains an accusation, and Teephlow’s response was not included in the material available for this report.
Social Media Reactions
The headteacher’s comments have generated mixed reactions on X, with users divided over the need to maintain discipline at school events, the place of traditional dance in Ghanaian entertainment and the responsibilities of performers invited to entertain students.
Some users supported the headteacher’s position, arguing that schools should exercise greater control over entertainment activities organised on their campuses.
Your Accounting Mentor (@nhyira_premium) questioned what organisers should expect when such performances are allowed at school events, suggesting that institutions needed to be more careful about how entertainment was introduced to students.
“We must be careful how we approach entertainment especially in today’s world in our schools,” the user wrote, adding that Ghana’s education system needed to be restructured to focus on skills.
EfoRasta (@efoMawulolo) also defended the headteacher’s authority to intervene, arguing that school administrators had the power to stop activities they considered inappropriate.
“As a headmaster, you have the power to stop any act that you think is wrong on campus,” the user wrote.
Amass Richard (@AmassRichard3) similarly welcomed the headteacher’s response, arguing that “too much freedom breeds indiscipline and waywardness”.
However, other users questioned the criticism of the student’s dancing, arguing that twerking and waist movements are part of Ghanaian dance culture and should be considered in the discussion.
Lil Lebz (@AmandaLebene) disagreed with the headteacher’s position, writing: “Our Ghanaian dances all involve twerking he should rest and let the girls express themselves.”
Kwaku Ananse (@ananse__kwaku) offered a more nuanced position, suggesting that the student could be disciplined while arguing that the cultural context of the dance should also be considered.
“That is true. She must be penalized but twerking is an African culture by the way. B)b))b) is performed by the women twisting their waist. I think that should be considered,” the user wrote.
Chale Talk Am (@ChaleTalkAm) acknowledged the need for boundaries at school events but questioned whether the institution was doing enough to guide students without publicly shaming them.
“School events should be fun, but there must also be boundaries. The bigger question is whether the school is doing enough to guide students on responsible behaviour without publicly shaming them,” the user commented.
Akwesi Hughes (@OfficialAkwesi), meanwhile, recalled a similar incident at St Augustine’s College about 14 years ago, when performers reportedly twerked during an awards night while the headmaster watched.
The user joked that the practice appeared to have continued over the years, suggesting that the controversy was not entirely new in Ghanaian schools.
The reactions have brought different perspectives to a debate that goes beyond the student’s onstage performance, raising questions about school discipline, cultural expression, the treatment of minors and the responsibility of entertainers performing before young audiences.
Whether the school proceeds with legal action against Teephlow remains to be seen. The rapper’s response to the headteacher’s allegations will also be important as the controversy develops.
