Pastor fights for Freedom

Lawyers of the United Kingdom-based pastor accused of killing his British wife are complaining about delays in getting the advice of the Attorney-General (A-G) on the case.

According to Ms Eva Otchere, counsel for Pastor Eric Isaiah Adusah of the Global Light Revival Ministries, the A-G’s Department’s inability to give advice to determine the fate of the pastor was worrying.

The lawyers are seeking bail from the court, presided over by Ms Marian Affoh, but the judge has been denying them same, suggesting to the defence team to go to a higher court to quash the decision to remand the pastor.

Ms Otchere, at yesterday’s sitting, said it was unacceptable for the prosecution to still tell the court that a duplicate copy of the case docket was being forwarded to the A-G when they had already told the court the same thing at the previous sitting.

She stated that the A-G ought to double up its steps so that justice would be done.

“There must be some expedition on the part of the A-G,” she urged, adding that there was no indication when it (the prosecution) was expecting the advice from the A-G.

As a result, Pastor Adusah’s lawyer said undue delay would be occasioned which would be detrimental to the fundamental human rights of the accused person whose guilt had not been proven before the court by the facts of the prosecution.

This was after Chief Inspector K. Sanche had told the court that the prosecution was yet to receive the advice on the docket they had sent on April 15, 2015.

The trial magistrate ordered the prosecution to follow up on the advice at the A-G’s Department before May 13, 2015.

Pastor Adusah, who was accompanied to the court by a large number of pastors, is standing trial over the death of his pregnant wife, Charmaine Speirs, which happened between 18th and 20th March, 2015 at Mac Dic Royal Plaza Hotel in Koforidua in the Eastern Region.

Charged with murder contrary to Section 46 of Act 29 of 1960, the plea of the accused person had not been taken by the court.

An autopsy report on the deceased from the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, dated March 31, 2015 and signed by Dr Afua Darkwah Abrahams, indicated that the pastor’s wife died of “acute poising and opiate heroin” overdose, a banned narcotic substance.

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

The police said in the first week of March 2015, Pastor Adusah also arrived in the country and on March 16, both the accused and the deceased lodged at the said hotel.

According to Detective Inspector Agbemehia, in the early hours of March 18, 2015, the pastor checked out and travelled to the UK, while the wife was billed to check out on March 20, 2015.

He said at the front desk of the hotel, Pastor Adusah instructed the 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.

The police officer said on the due date that Ms Speirs was expected to check out, nothing was heard of her so the management of the hotel used a spare key to gain access to the room, whereupon they found the deceased lifeless in a bathtub with blood oozing from her nose and in a state of decomposition.

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 accused has denied knowledge of the offence.