Pastor swindles widow

An Accra-based pastor and founder of the Temple Pillars International Ministry at Teshie-Nungua, Accra, Reverend Emmanuel Kwabla Adjetey, has allegedly swindled a widow, Victoria Yawo Gawuga.

The pastor, who operates from the former Fan Milk Depot at the First Junction around Teshie, is reported to have made the 59-year-old widow contract a loan from Barclays Bank, Makola branch, for him to put his church in shape, and has since failed to pay the interest that had accrued.

Madam Gawuga, who narrated her anxiety to DAILY GUIDE, disclosed that three years ago, while she was still in active service as a nurse, she had fellowship with the said pastor and trusted him.

By virtue of the fact that she was a nurse and on government payroll, she qualified for a loan from the bank through which she received her monthly salary.

She therefore obliged to the request of the pastor and took a loan of GH¢5,000 which was to be paid within three years with a compound interest of about 44%.

Pastor Adjettey, according to the old lady, agreed to the terms and was given the money but after paying the principal he failed to defray the accumulated interest of GH¢2,568.

All efforts to retrieve the remaining money she added, failed as the pastor kept tossing her, resulting in a further accumulation of the unpaid interest, now quoted at GH¢6,302.90. She expressed worry at how a man who claimed to be a messenger of God, could conduct himself in that manner.

After several fruitless attempts to retrieve the money, Madam Gawuga issued a demand notice dated 20 October, 2014 to the pastor who on receipt of the notice, sent a delegation to the widow on October 30, 2014 to negotiate the terms of settlement.

Both agreed on when the amount was to be settled, but the date has long elapsed and the pastor is reported to have gone into hiding.

DAILY GUIDE, however, managed to reach Pastor Emmanuel Kwabla Adjetey on phone, but he denied knowing the widow, while admitting that a delegation represented him to find out the terms of settlement of the accumulated interest.

He also admitted being indebted to Madam Gawuga, but disclosed that he settled the debt long ago and did not owe her a dime as she had claimed. Pastor Adjetey indicated that the money the widow gave to his church was never a loan.

According to him, the widow willingly gave out the money in support of the church’s project only to turn round and accuse him and his elders of swindling her, just to tarnish the image of the church.

The man of God also denied having gone into hiding over the issue, saying he had not committed any crime to warrant his disappearance from the community.

Younger brother of the widow who guaranteed the loan for the widow from the bank, Alex Yawo Gawuga, insisted the pastor agreed to the terms of the loan before he was handed the money, but had taken undue advantage of the poor woman’s situation to allegedly defraud her.

He threatened to drag him to court in order to retrieve the last cedi of the amount owed his sister.