The Accra Circuit Court ‘2’, presided over by Rosemary Baah Torso, has struck out a case brought against Reverend Isaac Owusu Bempah and three others as withdrawn.
The case was struck out yesterday by the court after it was informed by the prosecution officer, Inspector Jonas Lawer, that the state was formally withdrawing the charges against the Reverend Minister and the others.
The others were Michael Boateng, Frederick Ohene and Nathaniel Agyekum. However, no specific reason was given by the state.
Hitherto, all the accused persons pleaded not guilty to four charges brought against them, including causing unlawful harm.
They were put before the court in September 2021, and admitted to bail in the sum of GH¢100,000.00 with one surety each, and were ordered to avail themselves to the police whenever required.
Prior to the case being struck out, it was adjourned sine die on June 8, 2022, as both counsel and prosecution were absent.
The case was started by Assistant Superintendent of Police Dennis Terkpetey and later continued by Insp. Lawer, and the lead counsel for Rev. Owusu Bempah and others was Gary Nimako Marfo.
Background
The case was brought against the accused persons by police personnel stationed at the Intelligence Unit of the Ghana Police Service at Police Headquarters.
Rev. Owusu Bempah is the General Overseer of Glorious Word Power Ministry International, while the others were members of his church.
The court was told that on September 9, 2021, the first accused and some members of his church, including one Mensah Ofori, Associate Pastor of the church, besieged the premises of Evangelist Patricia Oduro Koranteng, alias Nana Agradaa, and threatened to kill her, which video went viral on social media.
On September 12, 2021, the police identified some of the young men, including the said Mensah Ofori and Adu Berchie, as among two other people in the viral video threatening Nana Agradaa and brandishing a pistol.
The court was further informed that the complainants on board Toyota Corolla with registration No. NR 9602-20 visited the Church of the first accused person at Sakaman after the church had closed service to arrest Mensah Ofori and Adu Berchie.
By then another team of plain cloth Policemen had arrested Mensah Ofori to the Dansoman Police Station and detained him. Rev. Owusu Bempah on seeing the Police personnel ordered his church members to beat and kill them.
He allegedly further ordered the church members to march to Dansoman Police Station to free Mensah Ofori.
Some of the church members among whom were the accused persons set upon the policemen and beat them up amidst firing of gunshots, disarmed the Police of two service rifles and vandalized Toyota Corolla Saloon car with registration number NR 9602-20.
As a result, four policemen were injured in the process and admitted at the Police Hospital for treatment. On September 14, 2021, the Policemen were discharged for them to be reporting periodically for review and investigation also led to the retrieval of one of the service weapons from a church member.
The second weapon was retrieved through the help of the Dansoman Police Station Officer.
And, it was after all these investigations that the accused persons were charged and arraigned.
