Methodist Priest Under Fire

For Interfering In Ghana’s Judicial Process

The Hierarchy and some members of the Methodist Church, Ghana, are calling for the immediate suspension and demotion of the Bishop of the Obuasi Diocese, Rt. Rev Stephen R. Bosomtwi-Ayensu, for his unnecessary interference in the judicial process, as regards the judgment debt paid Consul Alfred Agbesi Woyome.

A Daily Guide publication on Saturday, April 28th, 2012, with a screaming headline; “PAY BACK WOYOME CASH”, attributed to the Methodist Church of Ghana, is what has infuriated some leaders and members of the church, hence the call for the sanctions to be applied on the Bishop of the Obuasi Diocese, since his comments are in contravention of the law and the judicial process.

“Commonsense should have informed our Bishop that since the case is in court, it will be prejudicial on his part to pass judgment on the matter”, some angry leaders told The Informer in an exclusive telephone conversation, over the weekend.

Speaking on strict condition of anonymity, the leading members expressed total disappointments in their Bishop, saying; his comments has the tendency to create huge problem for the Methodist Church, and therefore he must be punished for meddling in politics as well as interfering in the judicial process.

“What is even worrying is that, whiles the case is still on-going, our Bishop decided to arrogate the powers of the court to himself, passing judgment on the matter, to the extent of calling on government to retrieve the amount paid Mr. Alfred Agbesi Woyome”, they added.

“Rt. Rev Stephen R. Bosomtwi-Ayensu should have known better and not to draw the Methodist church into this judgment debt saga following the political dimension that this case has assumed”, one of the leading members suggests.

“He must be punished to serve as deterrent to those who have the intention of doing same, and engaging in unnecessary politics, since the Methodist Church is not a political movement”, he stated.

Rt. Rev Bosomtwi-Ayensu’s comment was also equally condemned by some members when The Informer visited a number of Methodist Churches in Accra yesterday.

From the Bethel, Allotey Pappoe, Emmanuel, Ernest Bruce and Abundance Grace branches of the Methodist Church, Rt. Rev Bosomtwi-Ayensu was not spared at all, as those who interacted with this paper wanted him punished, to save and protect the image of the church.

According to them, the comments can have huge ramification of the church, should those from the other side of the political divide feel offended by the statement; as they call on authorities to call the Bishop to order, before he turns the church into a political movement.

Rt. Rev Bosomtwi-Ayensu, according to the Daily Guide report, made the said call at the opening of the 15th Annual Synod of the Church, at Obuasi.

Speaking on the theme: “The Law of Sowing and Reaping Has Never Been Repealed”, a theme which has nothing to do with judgment debt, the man of God decided to make the judgment debt issue his subject, showing his NPP colors from the pulpit.

As if the backlash that he experienced was not enough for him to learn some lesson and to refrain from meddling in politics, he went ahead during an interview with an Accra based radio station to say that, Ghanaians should not be refer to the President as “Asomdwehene”, using some illogical statements in buttressing his claim.

If the Bishop however thinks that stopping Ghanaians from calling President John Evans Atta Mills “Asomdwehene” is what will make Nana Akufo-Addo win this year’s election, then he better stop his priesthood, since the man he is secretly campaigning for cannot become President of this respectable country.