Pastor, 4 Others Found Guilty

Posted: Daily Guide |Friday, 11 June 2010

By Charles Takyi-Boadu
THE SUPREME Court has found Reverend (Rev) Ransford Obeng, former head of the Calvary Charismatic Church (CCC), and others, including one Joseph Opoku, C.K Acolatse, R.K Owusu and C.O Kpodo, guilty for attempting to defraud the Assemblies of God Church, Ghana, of its right of ownership.

The CCC was a branch of the Assemblies of God Church.

On November 16, 1992, Rev. Obeng and his accomplices wrote a letter in their capacity as members of the Board of the CCC, to the Assemblies of God Church, in which they stated their decision to cease affiliation with the Assemblies of God, with effect from November 19, 1992.

They therefore sought to claim ownership of the church building and the office block, as well as its properties.

After a lengthy trial which spanned 1993 to December, 2001, a High Court in Kumasi, presided over by Justice Quaye, ruled in favour of the Assemblies of God Church, since according to him, evidence showed that even though the plot of land was acquired by Calvary Charismatic Ministry (CCM), CCC jointly invested in development of the church building with them, which creates joint ownership rights in both CCC and CCM.

Whilst Rev. Obeng and his accomplices were aggrieved by the said decision and appealed against it, the Assemblies of God Church asked for more reliefs by way of variation of judgement, and therefore proceeded to the Appeals Court, where Justices Coram Lartey, Tweneboa-Kodua and Asare-Korang, by a majority decision, ruled on April 22, 2005, dismissing the appeal and affirming the judgment of the lower court.

The Appeals Court therefore insisted that the church building and the office block, as well as movable properties acquired before November 16, 1992, should be held in trust for the Assemblies of God Church.

Dissatisfied with the decision of the Appeals Court, Rev. Obeng and his accomplices proceeded to the Supreme Court, where after going through various arguments, the five justices, who sat on the case on February 3, 2010, including Justices Dr. Date-Bah, Adinyira, Owusu, Dotse and Anin Yeboah, concluded that the circumstance under which Rev. Ransford Obeng purported to have changed the registration documents with respect to a plot of land situated at No 12, Atimpongya, upon which CCC, which was later changed to CCM, was built, smacks of fraud.

This, the court said, was evident in the fact that CCM was not in existence when the land was purchased in 1990, and that “the attempt by the 1st defendant, Rev. Ransford Obeng, to change the purchase date from 1990, when there was no division, to 1992, smells of fraud.”

In view of that, they said “it will be manifestly unjust to allow the defendants to enrich themselves by their own fraud.”

The suit emanated from a letter which was written by the defendants on November 16, 1992, in their capacity as Board of the CCC, and addressed to the Assemblies of God Church, in which they informed the church of their decision to cease affiliation with them.

The profound effect of this letter compelled the Assemblies of God Church to file a suit in the High Court, to make claims for its properties, since the defendants (CCC) were making desperate moves to take over both movable and immovable properties of the church, including the church building itself.

The Supreme Court sought to determine whether CCC was a local branch of the Assemblies of God upon its establishment in 1985, or became an affiliate only in 1990 when it acquired the ‘set in order’ status.

It also wanted to ascertain whether the decision of the CCC Board to cease affiliation with the Assemblies of God in November 1992, amounted to a division or secession from the church, whilst probing to determine whether the plaintiff (Assemblies of God) lacked the capacity to have instituted the suit against the defendants.

The Justices of the Supreme Court noted, “Our own in-depth analysis and study of all the evidence on record, coupled with the exhibits and the judgments of the trial and the Appellate Courts, is that, what happened in the Calvary Charismatic Centre was that the defendants used their position in the CCC at the material time, hijacked the church, declared their cessation agenda in order to satisfy their own spiritual and material advantages.”

From the scenario that had been given in the record of appeal, the Court said it was clear that the word ‘division’ and ‘secession’ could be used interchangeably, since they meant one and the same thing.

As far as the Court was concerned, the findings of the trial judge on this issue, which was concurred by the Court of Appeal, were sound, both in facts and the law, and found no reason to set it aside, emphasising the fact that “a party against whom two concurring findings have been made first, the trial Court and the Appellate Court must be slow to bring the appeal to the second Appellate Court such as this Supreme Court.”

In such an instance, the Supreme Court indicated that there should be cogent, strong, legal grounds of appeal that must be filed and argued to convince the second appellate Court to reverse the findings of fact.

On the whole, the Judges noted, “we endorse the finding that what happened in the CCC was a division, and that in the context of this case, secession and division mean the same thing.”

The Court thus upheld the judgment of the trial High Court dated December 11, 2001 as was varied per the majority judgment of the Court of Appeal per Justices Lartey and Tweneboa Kodua, dated April 22, 2005, in entirety, and accordingly dismissed the appeal by the rebellious priest.

NDC Boss Strikes

Posted: Daily Guide |Friday, 11 June 2010

By Charles Takyi-Boadu & A.R Gomda
Dr. Kwabena Adjei, Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has furiously lashed out at persons who, according to him, are trying to cause trouble in the party by bickering over its leadership towards the 2012 presidential race.

He particularly hit at Herbert Mensah, while avoiding Mr. Rawlings and his wife Nana Konadu, like a plague.

“Some people are trying to rock the boat, and it is time for us to tell them that we can’t continue to sit down and then see them rock the boat,” he huffed and puffed.

Kwabena Adjei’s anger came on the heels of a fierce encounter on Radio Gold last Wednesday between Herbert Mensah and Ato Ahwoi, over who said what about the health challenges of President John Evans Atta Mills prior to the 2008 presidential elections.

While the NDC capo avoided mentioning the names of the ex-First Couple, he was not charitable with the Rawlingses’ pal Herbert Mensah, saying, “And who is that Herbert? I don’t know him anywhere. When did he join the party?”

When pushed to get closer to the names he thought were behind the ongoing fracas in the NDC, he shouted: “You want to put words in my mouth. Don’t you yourself know what is happening?

Don’t you know what is happening? Why do you want me to say it? Don’t you know what is happening? I mean we are fed up with what is happening now.”

For those following recent developments, they could only relish a guess when the NDC National Chairman said:

“We don’t want to talk about it, but it has come to a point when we now want to tell those people that if Prof Mills doesn’t succeed, nobody will succeed, nobody! It should be clear to them. If people want to make sure that they undermine Prof Atta Mills so that they will come to power, they lie…”

About how the President was taking the unfolding events, he said the man was unshaken, adding that anyone who takes the First Gentleman for granted was underestimating him, given his record as a former Vice President and a sportsman.

“Some of you people take the man for granted. A professor of law who has been a vice president before and is the President of the Republic of Ghana: Why do you people think you can underestimate a man like that?

A sportsman like that? His demeanour is cool. He’s not worried about all this nonsense that is going on, he’s not!” he stressed.

The verbal clash between Herbert Mensah, a close associate of the Rawlingses’, and Ato Ahwoi, a leading member of the NDC and a pal of President Mills, alongside the flaunting of a Nana Konadu For 2012 bid, had come under a scathing attack from the party chairman.

He served notice that a group of NDC persons was busy rocking the boat of the party, warning that he and others would not allow them to have their way.

This latest response from the National Chairman of the ruling party had widened the scope of the internal wrangling, deepening the schism that now exists in the political grouping.

He expressed worry about what for him was an in-house machination from the highest echelon of the party- a conclusion informed by a careful watching of unfolding events, according to him.

President Mills, contrary to what had been peddled about his health status, he said, was well and not sick.

“There is nothing wrong with President Mills. President Mills is not ill. President Mills is doing what he can to promote the Better Ghana agenda. That’s it!” Dr. Adjei said.

“The likes of me have sat down; we have not talked about anything; we have watched events; we are worried. We are worried because this is coming from within our own ranks and from the highest echelon of our ranks,” he added.

On Tuesday, Herbert Mensah, a businessman and an associate of the Rawlingses, clashed with a man considered as a member of President Mills’ kitchen cabinet over alleged discussion about dumping Mills in the run-up to the last elections.

During the last June 4 celebration in Tamale, a group of party activists flew a ‘Nana Konadu for 2012’ kite and ended up opening a Pandora’s Box, whose fallouts were said to be causing disquiet in the ruling party.
While some had spoken openly about it, others preferred to keep mute.

Presidential Aide and National Youth Organiser, Ludwig Hlodze, when contacted yesterday by DAILY GUIDE for comment, declined the request.

Asked how the President felt about the raging issue, Ludwig said he had taken a personal decision not to comment on it, though he admitted it was part of his duty to respond to such issues.

The recent challenges facing the ruling party, which threaten its very foundation, had compelled leadership to issue a stern warning against what it described as mushroom organisations within the party.

Whilst it reaffirmed the rights of every member of the NDC to aspire to any position within the party and the country at large, the FEC maintained “these rights must be exercised within the confines of the NDC constitution and the constitution of the Republic of Ghana”.

At a press conference to commemorate the 18th anniversary of the formation of the party in Accra yesterday, General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu-Nketiah said, “The FEC also notes with concern, attempts to undermine the sitting President and leader of our party by certain individuals with the objective of furthering the presidential ambitions of some members of the party in 2012.”

He noted that the modus operandi of these potential aspirants had been the promotion and support of these supposed mushroom organisations within the party to begin and intensify agitations based on genuine challenges the leadership was trying to address.

Though he did not mention the name(s) of any individual or group of persons, it was obvious that Mr. Asiedu-Nketiah was referring to the recent promotional campaign for wife of former President Rawlings, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, to contest President Mills at the party’s next congress to become flagbearer.

The party’s General Secretary therefore stated emphatically: “The Functioning Executive Committee (FEC) takes a serious view of these developments and wishes to remind all concerned that the first commitment of an NDC member is to accept the constitution, aims, objectives, policies and programmes of the party.”

This, he said, was because Article 38 (a) of the party’s constitution provides for rules of conduct for party members which states inter alia “that every member of the party shall ensure the unity and cohesion of the party at all times”.

The FEC reminded those pursuing any such ‘hidden agendas’ of the decision the party took at its 2002 congress, not to approve or encourage the formation of such parallel structures within the party.

Meanwhile, a former pal of Mr. Jerry John Rawlings and Number Two man in the erstwhile AFRC junta, has stated that the ex-first couple has continued to irk Ghanaians by what he describes as their delusions.

Retired Captain Kwadwo Boakye-Gyan declared that as far he was concerned, the two persons were desperate for power because of the country’s imminent oil resources.

Rawlings, he said, was a person he knows very well and who had the capacity to manipulate and use pretences to achieve his selfish ends.

Konadu For President:

Herbert Mensah Speaks Out
Posted: Daily Guide| Tuesday, 08 June 2010

By Charles Takyi-Boadu
Close pal to the Rawlingses, Herbert Mensah does not understand why any individual or group of persons in the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) would take issue with Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings’ decision to run for the party’s flagbearership position, if she indeed wants to do so.

Though he claimed to be unaware of any such intention by the former First Lady, Mr. Mensah said there was nothing wrong if she indeed had the desire to be Ghana’s president.

In an exclusive interview with DAILY GUIDE, the sports enthusiast and businessman said, “I am not aware that Mrs. Rawlings wants to run against Professor Mills; but there is a supposition that she wants to”.

However, according to him, neither she nor her husband, Mr. Rawlings, had disclosed such intentions to him.

Herbert Mensah stressed the belief that the issue of whether or not the former First Lady would run for the position of NDC flagbearer would largely depend on how well the sitting President, Professor John Evans Atta Mills, performs between now and when the party goes to congress, based on the promises made to the electorate.

“So she hasn’t stated that she would run. If there is pressure on her, if Prof is not stepping up to the plate as being said, then a vacuum is created.

Mrs. Rawlings and others may also decide that this is the time to stand. Obviously because of her name, she will make more prominence than others,” he noted.

Mr. Mensah said he was at the recently-held June 4 celebration in Tamale and never heard either Mr. Rawlings or his wife, Nana Konadu, say anything that sought to create the impression that she was going to contest the NDC flagbearership for 2012.

According to him, even the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) appreciates the fact that there was a vacuum, which was why the opposition party believed it could win the 2012 general elections.

For this reason, he said, “I also believe that there is a vacuum and if indeed she is called, I don’t know but she is entitled to and she may well decide that under that pressure, she will contest.”

That notwithstanding, he said, it would be the prerogative of Mrs. Rawlings to take any such decision, stressing, “If Mrs. Rawlings really wanted to run, that is her prerogative to run.

I think the structure of democracy we are in, people are struggling between people having private opinions and people having intents. There are a lot of considerations here and if she wants to, she is entitled to it.

“The youth are agitating. The youth have a problem and her view was that too little, if nothing or not enough, was being done by government and that was her position.

But at no point did she say ‘I’m now running for government’, except for two or more of those posters advertising Konadu for 2012 which were being held by some students in the crowd,” he added.

Meanwhile, aide to former President Jerry Rawlings, Kofi Adams, has fended off criticisms that the former First Couple is power drunk, arguing that Nana Konadu is more than qualified to be Ghana's president.

According to him, for 28 years, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings had worked to better the lot of the underprivileged in the country and that made the former First Lady stand tall amongst all the people whose names had so far come up as possible successors to President J.E.A. Mills.

“We have presidents across the world, some of whom have not even half of the percentage of experience Nana Konadu has [accumulated] in the last 28 years that she has been actively involved in the political activities of this country,” he told Joy Fm.

Clearly, Nana Konadu seemed to have turned her eyes on the teeming youth in the country.

Speaking in Tamale on June 4 she said, “If you say you have a youth employment programme, what are they employing? Who are they employing? What employable skills do you want them to have?”

Touting her credentials, she added, “When some of us started as revolutionaries, we were just like you. We were idealistic, with passion; we wanted change by all means necessary.

And today we have a good crop of youthful people, youthful exuberant Ghanaians who are wondering, which way forward”.

Mrs Rawlings said the NDC won elections because the people believed in change.

“We believed in real change; not changing to go on with the old order. We believe there should be real change for the sake of change.
But you cannot change and remain in the same place and continue marking time. So for those of us who believe in the issue of change-¬ the real change-¬ know that we should move from where we are to another destination.”