Sunyani, June 6, GNA - A High Court in Sunyani has dismissed a writ filed by the Board of Trustees of Ghana Association of the Seventh Day Adventist Church and others, seeking its order to appoint a Manager/Receiver for assets in possession of dismissed branches of the Church in Brong Ahafo.
The court, presided by Mrs. Justice Mariama Owusu, awarded one million cedis cost in favour of the respondents led by one Mr. Paul Osei Agyemang.
In her ruling, the Judge held that after a careful study of the motion paper and the supporting affidavits, as well as the annexure and the affidavit in opposition, "the church's assets that I am being called upon to appoint a Manager/Receiver are church buildings and schools". Justice Mariama noted: "Ordinarily the court would not make an order that requires constant supervision and to appoint a Manager/Receiver in respect of the schools would mean that the court would have to be seeing to the collection of school fees, printing of examination papers etc".
She said this was an enormous task for the court and so also was the church building and posed the question if the Manager/Receiver could be present at church services, conventions and harvests since he had to do the work well.
"The follow up question is what happens to his own church if he has to go to church", the high court judge said, adding such an arrangement would pose great inconvenience to the appointee.
"In the peculiar circumstances of this case, I think the status quo be maintained pending the final hearing of this suit", Justice Mariama said, stressing, "what I am being called upon to do would be hard to supervise".
"The balance of convenience weighs heavily in my refusing the application", she added.
