Plot To Remove The Akaboha Exposed

The impasse between certain identifiable groups within the Musama Disco Christo Church (MDCC) over the controversial suspension of the General Head Prophet of the church, Miritaiah Jonah Jehu Appiah, also known as the Akaboha III, has taken a new twist.

The Independent can reveal that in view of recent developments in the church, which has been described by some people as an orchestrated attempt to denigrate the Akaboha, some other groups within the church have also braced themselves up in defence of the Akaboha.

Investigations by The Independent have established that the Sekondi Diocese and the entire National Women's Fellowship, the UK and Overseas branches, sections of the Youth Movement and some circuits of the church have passed resolutions in support of the Akaboha to remain the General Overseer of the church.

The resolutions called on the entire membership of the church to ignore newspaper reports purporting that the Akaboha has been suspended. "It is not true that the Akaboha has been removed from his position," the groups maintained.

The Independent is privy to the information that about three years ago, some disgruntled church workers attempted to whip up sentiments against the Akaboha when they accused him of delays in paying salaries, fragmentation in the church, failure of church investments and closure of church institutions, especially schools.

The head office staff of the church wore red bands and later made some demands on the Akaboha after which the matter was dropped but Reverends J. K. Addai, Senior Superintendent and Jere Offa Jehu Appiah, Church Father continued with the agitation, The Independent learnt.

The Independent is reliably informed that the recent impasse in the church started with the publication in the Bold and Beautiful, newspaper which made allegations of sexual misconduct against the Akaboha by accusing him of having had affairs with three young ladies in the church.

This was followed by a publication in an Accra private newspaper, which levelled accusations of misadministration against the Akaboha.

After these media developments, the Church's Executive Committee appointed 15 people to go into the issues raised and report back to the committee.

The Independent also learnt that a five-member committee was also appointed by the Executive Committee to take over the external activities of the Akaboha pending the outcome of investigations into the allegations made against him and as the Akaboha complied with the decisions of the Executive Committee it was bandied around that he had been suspended.

According to our information, the 15-member investigative committee's report was not presented to the Executive Committee when one of them read it to the I'Odomey conference, the highest decision making body in the church, which was rejected on grounds of being incomplete.

The information also had it that a meeting was scheduled for February 15th to discuss the report but the Church Father, three Elders of the church and two distant relations of the Founder met with the Akaboha and the General Secretary of the church, Rev. S. D. Koufie ostensibly to plan ahead of the meeting.

The advance meeting was also attended by Rev. J. M. Abban, Properties Research Officer of the church, and the Akatitibi but it turned to be that the Church Father had a different agenda as he asked the Akaboha to honourably resign his position because of the resolutions by the Oman, Elders' Council and Pastors Council stating that they cannot work with the Akaboha again.

Further investigations by The Independent have also established that on 14th February 2003, the Church Father gathered people at Mozano, the headquarters of the church, and announced to them that the Akaboha had been removed from office. But confusion broke out at the Executive Committee meeting on February 15th, 2003 when the Church Father told them that he had performed the rituals to remove the Akaboha.

He was then challenged on four grounds, the investigations uncovered.

The Church Father was challenged that his title was an honorary one and as such had no such powers to remove the Akaboha and also that the resolutions on which he based his action was improper since it lacked consultations with the membership of those groups.

The other challenges were that the process of an individual removing the Akaboha was unconstitutional and that the Church Father could have waited for the Executive Committee meeting to discuss the matter.

Our sources at the meeting hinted that as a result a motion was moved to nullify the rituals removing the Akaboha and another motion moved for the dissolution of the 15-member committee as they had failed to present a report after three months.

According to our sources, out of the numerous allegations against the Akaboha, the committee only harped on the alleged sex scandal in which some of them had vested interest.

At this point, there was physical commotion as relations of the alleged sexual victims rained insults on Rev. Abban for stating that what was going on had a spiritual dimension and that they were provoking the holy spirit and cautioned them to allow themselves to be guided by the spirit other than personal ambitions.

Our sources described the so-called attempts to remove the Akaboha as part of a grand plan to derail the church from the path that the Founder had set it and implored members of the Church and the public at large to ignore the pronouncements of the few persons who want to usurp the position of the Akaboha.