Pastor and members of church on murder charge

Sunyani, June 12, GNA - Francis Kwadwo Fosu, a pastor and six members of Apostolic Continuation Church at Kintampo in Brong Ahafo have been put before a magistrates' court in Sunyani for allegedly murdering a police constable.

The court remanded four of them, Ernest Tuffour, Osei Asibi, Isaac Tsibu and Godwin Kofi Nyantakyi into prison custody but granted Fosu, Daniel Safo and Gideon Donyina 10,000 Ghana cedis bail with two sureties each.

Chief Inspector Kingsley Baafi, prosecutor, told the court, presided over by Mr. Albert Zoogah that the late Constable Kwadwo Amankwaa, was stationed at Obuasi in the Ashanti Region but was interdicted for allowing some prisoners to escape. He said the Constable who became worried over the issue sought spiritual assistance from the Church at Kintampo to trace the escapees. The prosecutor said Amankwaa started behaving abnormally and attacked some of the members during a church service on May 18, this year. The four remanded suspects allegedly tied the deceased with a rope and sent for his mother to come and take him to the hospital for treatment. Chief Inspector Baafi said on arrival the mother insisted that the son should instead be sent to a prophet at another church at Kintampo. She sent the deceased to the prophet who after praying for him left him at the church premises to sleep but when he (prophet) and the mother returned to ascertain his condition the prophet realized that he (constable) was not breathing so he was rushed to a hospital at Kintampo where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The doctor on duty gave a verbal cause of the death as fracture of the legs and the spinal cord. The prosecutor said the case was reported to the police and the remanded four suspects were arrested to assist in investigations.