Court turns down Man of God's request

A Magistrates’ Court in Accra on Wednesday turned down a request put in by Pastor Eric Isaiah Adusah, of the United Kingdom based Global Light Revival Ministries who has been accused of murdering his wife.

Pastor Adusah contended that he had not set his eyes on the body of his wife currently deposited at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital Morgue.

According to the Pastor, besides, the deceased’s relations have been calling him to bring the body home.

“It’s my humble plea to be given the opportunity to take the body of my wife home to her family,” the Pastor said while in the dock.

The 28-year-old Ghanaian Pastor was nabbed for the alleged murder of his British wife, Charmaine Speirs at a hotel in Koforidua, in the Eastern Region.

The Court presided over by Worlanyo Kotoku declined saying whether it was too early to release the body to him and urged Pastor Adusah to exercise restraint.

According to the Judge, the full report of the autopsy was not ready.

Meanwhile, the Prosecutor has told the Court that when the docket was sent to the Attorney General’s Department, the investigator was instructed to take statements from witnesses and text messages exchanged between the accused and the deceased.

According to the Prosecutor, all the text messages and statements had since been forwarded to the AG, adding that, by the next adjourned date the full autopsy report would be ready.

Pastor Adusah, who was facing a provisional charge of murder, has been granted GH?200,000.00 bail, with one surety to be justified by the Human Rights Court.

The Magistrate Court has since preserved his plea.

The Prosecution contends that Pastor Adusah, between March 18 and March 20, 2015, at Mac Dic Royal Plaza Hotel in Koforidua in the Eastern Region, allegedly caused the death of Ms Speirs by unlawful harm.

According to the Prosecution, Pastor Adusah is a Ghanaian by birth but resident in the UK with his wife, the deceased, and that the couple got married in September 2014 in the UK after a whirlwind romance.

Prosecution said in February this year, the deceased, who was about three months pregnant, was to travel to Ghana together with the accused, but she came ahead of him and stayed with Bishop Yaw Adu, the Spiritual father of the accused in Koforidua.

The Prosecutor said in the first week of March this year, Pastor Adusah also arrived in the country and that on March 16, both the accused and the deceased lodged at the Mac Dic Royal Plaza Hotel in Koforidua.

According to the Prosecutor, in the early hours of March 18, this year, the accused checked out and traveled to the UK, whiles the deceased was billed to check out on March 20, this year.

The Prosecutor averred that, at the front desk of the hotel, Pastor Adusah had instructed management not to disturb the deceased because she was observing fasting and prayers in her room and needed a quiet time until she checked out on Friday March 20.

Prosecution said on the day Ms Speirs was expected to check out, nothing was heard of her and the hotel's management became suspicious.

The Prosecutor said the management then used a spare key to gain access to the room, whereupon, they found the lifeless body of the deceased in a decomposed state in a bathtub, with blood oozing from her nose.

According to the Prosecution, the condition of the body clearly showed that Ms Speirs died a couple of days earlier, a situation that raised their suspicion.

The Police said their investigations showed that no one else entered the room after Pastor Adusah had left.

The Regional CID, Koforidua, was informed and the body was removed and deposited at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital awaiting autopsy.

Prosecution said the Homicide Unit of the Ghana Police Service took over the investigations and on March 20, Bishop Yaw Adu informed the accused of the death of his wife.

The Prosecutor said on March 22, Pastor Adusah arrived in Ghana and reported himself to the Police Regional CID, Koforidua, and he was arrested.

He however denied knowledge of the offence during interrogation.

The case has been adjourned to June 29.