The woes of General Overseer of Glorious Word Power Ministries International, Reverend Isaac Owusu-Bempah, have deepened after the police separated the case in which he allegedly threatened the life of Patricia Oduro, aka Okomfo Agradaa, and also allegedly instigated an assault on some police officers.
With the latest development, Rev. Owusu-Bempah is now facing two different cases in separate courts.
The beleaguered cleric was initially put before an Accra Circuit Court together with four others namely; Mensah Ofori, Michael Boateng, Frederick Ohene and Nathaniel Agyekum, charged with six counts of threat of death and assault.
Separating Cases
But the case has now been separated and put before different courts after the prosecution decided to amend the charge sheet and withdraw the old charge which was struck out by the court presided over by Her Honour Afia Owusua Appiah and the accused persons were subsequently discharged of the old charges.
The first leg of the case has Rev. Owusu-Bempah, Mensah Ofori and Bright Berchie who was on the run until his arrest, facing two counts of offensive conduct conducive to the breach of the peace and another two counts of threat of death.
The second case also names Rev. Owusu-Bempah as one of four accused persons including Michael Boateng, Frederick Ohene and Nathaniel Agyekum, with Rev. Owusu-Bempah facing charges of abetment of assault and unlawful damage while the other three are facing charges of assault and causing unlawful damage.
The accused persons pleaded not guilty to all the charges in the separate cases.
Offensive Conduct/Death Threat
In the first leg of the case, the accused are alleged to have gone to the residence of Agraada, who is the complainant, on September 9, 2021, wielding cutlasses and other offensive weapons, to attack her.
The accused are said to have threatened to kill Agradaa and during the act, Bright Berchie according to court documents was seen in a viral video brandishing a pistol to enforce their intent to kill Agradaa.
The documents indicated that Mensah Ofori during the act also said the complainant had been given 24 hours within which she will be killed.
According the facts, the police visited the scene and met a group of well-built men wielding cutlasses and other offensive weapons shouting and hurling insults.
“Eight vehicles and twelve motorbikes were also parked on the street in front of the house. The first accused (Rev. Owusu-Bempah) was also seen seated in a black Toyota Land Cruiser instructing and urging the men to move into the house of the complainant (Agradaa) and bring her out for her to be killed,” the documents revealed.
The documents added that as the situation calmed down, the police invited both Agradaa and Rev. Owusu-Bempah to follow them to the police station for investigation but Rev. Owusu-Bempah ignored the police and drove off with his group.
Assault/Unlawful Damage
Court documents supporting the second leg of the case indicate that following the events at Agradaa’s house, the police identified two of the young men in the viral video as some of the people who had brandished pistols during the commotion.
The facts of the case indicated that the complainants who are police officers had visited Rev. Owusu-Bempah’s church at Sakaman, Accra, to arrest Mensah Ofori and Bright Berchie but upon getting there another team of plain clothed officers had already arrested Mensah Ofori and took him to the Dansoman Police Station.
“The first accused (Rev. Owusu-Bempah) on seeing the police personnel ordered his church members to beat and kill them. He further ordered the church members to march to Dansoman Police Station to free Mensah Ofori,” the facts of the case said.
It continued that “some of the church members set upon the police and beat them up amidst firing of gunshots, disarmed the police of two service riffles and vandalised Toyota Corolla saloon car with registration number NR 9602-20. Four police men were injured in the process and admitted at the Police Hospital for treatment.”
It added that investigations led to the retrieval of one of the service weapons from a church member while the second weapon was retrieved through the help of the Station Officer of Dansoman Police.
Bail Application
Counsel for the accused persons in both cases, Gary Nimako Marfo was able to get the accused person admitted to bail pending the trial.
In his applications for bail, he told the courts that the accused persons had already been given bail by a High Court and none of them had done anything to breach the conditions of the bail.
He said the accused persons are not flight risk and would appear for the trial when granted bail, adding that the courts should consider the conducts of the accused persons and grant them bail.
No Opposition
The prosecution led by Chief Inspector Dennis Terkpetey did not oppose the application for bail, but urged the court to set conditions that will compel the accused persons to show up for trial.
The first court presided over by Her Honour Afia Owusua Appiah granted Rev. Owusu-Bempah a self-recognizance bail of GH¢100,000 while Mensah Ofori and Bright Berchie were each granted a bail of GH¢100,000 with two sureties to be justified.
Adjourned Dates
The court ruled that the accused persons cannot travel outside Ghana without the express permission of the court, and the accused persons must report to the police once every fortnight. The case was adjourned to November 10, 2021.
The second court presided over by Her Honour Rosemary Tosu, also granted the four accused persons a bail of GH¢100,000 each with one surety each, and adjourned the case to November 15, 2021.
Source:dailyguidenetwork.com