David Adjaye gave names of alleged abuse victims to Ghanaian government

Architect Sir David Adjaye has disclosed private legal letters and the names of women he allegedly sexually abused to the government of Ghana as part of efforts to save his reputation.

The Financial Times published an investigation this week in which three female former employees of his architectural practice accused Adjaye of different forms of exploitation, from sexual assault and harassment to emotional abuse. Adjaye strenuously denies the allegations.

Nana Bediatuo Asante, executive secretary to Ghana’s president, confirmed the government had received information from Adjaye because it was “concerned” about the FT report: “We asked for clarification on what was happening. We were sent documents prepared by his lawyers which purported to respond to the allegations in the newspaper. And that is the extent of it.”

The names of the three women were quickly leaked to the Ghanaian media, which published them online. Asante conceded that there could have been a leak from within the government, but said it was “incorrect to say that the government has intentionally or officially given names of complainants to the newspapers”.

Adjaye confirmed he had shared unredacted legal letters that had been prepared by London law firm Farrer & Co in response to questions from the FT during its investigation. “The legal correspondence was disclosed on a strictly confidential basis to a client in order to better understand and assess the ongoing situation,” Adjaye said in a statement. “Extremely regrettably, this correspondence was disclosed [to the media].”

PPLAFF, the whistleblowing organisation representing the women, said: “The women are whistleblowers who chose to be anonymous for safety reasons. Disclosing names is a tool all too often used to retaliate and has a chilling effect on others who want to come forward.”

Since the publication of the FT investigation, Adjaye has stepped down from a series of high-profile roles and projects so the allegations do “not become a distraction”. 

He has removed himself from a project to design the UK’s Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre and given up a trusteeship of the Serpentine Galleries and a role as an adviser to London mayor Sadiq Khan. The Studio Museum in Harlem, Manhattan, is cutting ties with Adjaye personally, according to the New York Times. His firm is designing its new building.

He remains as designer of Ghana’s National Cathedral project. The multimillion-dollar development is the project of President Nana Akufo-Addo, who wants to build a legacy-defining landmark akin to Westminster Abbey and Abu Dhabi’s Grand Mosque. The allegations against Adjaye come as the project has been mired in controversy over spiralling costs.

Two Ghanaian news outlets published articles naming the three women complainants without their written consent or the opportunity to comment, based on information in the legal letters that named them in pre-publication correspondence to the FT.

When Farrer & Co was alerted to the disclosure of the legal correspondence and the exposure of the names, it took steps to get the published articles taken down. 

“I accept that sharing the correspondence with the client [the Ghanaian government] was unwise, but there was never any intention that it should become public,” said Adjaye.

“As soon as I became aware of the article, I immediately instructed lawyers to take urgent steps to ensure that the identities of the women were removed immediately and that the article was taken down.”