What Ghana's laws say about death prophecies from Owusu Bempah, Nigel Gaisie & others

In the past few days, the Ghanaian media pace has been dominated by discussions over how some Christian prophets dish out death prophecies in pubic.

The discussions started after a barrage of doom prophecies were delivered by a number of these prophets at the various 31st night services to usher in 2019.

Prominent among the doom prophets have been Reverend Isaac Owusu Bempah, Prophet Nigel Gaisie and Reindolph Oduro Gyebi aka Eagle Prophet.

Nigel Giaise made a number of such prophecies in his church with Eagle Prophet also claiming that God had revealed to him that former president Mahama will lose a son 2019 and also 'One Corner' hitmaker Patapaa will be poisoned to death.

Owusu Bempah even had the most controversial of the prophecies declaring that former presidents Kufuor and Mahama and Vice President Dr Bawumia would die if massive prayers were not said for them.

He also claimed to have foreseen the death of the National Chief Imam Osman Nuhu Sharabutu and thus called for prayers for the old man.

This did not go down well with some Muslim youth who stormed the premises of Owusu Bempah's church on Wednesday to vandalise some items.

The attack deepened the discussions on these death prophecies with some calling for legal actions the prophets who make such pronouncements.

So what does Ghana's laws say about these prophecies? In fact, there is no direct mention of death prophecies being a criminal action per se but it may well have been covered under The Criminal Offences Act 1960 (Act 29).

Section 75 of the act clearly states that "a person who threatens any other person with death, with the intent to put that person in fear of death, commits a second degree felony."

A second degree felony charge, if proven in court, carries a maximum of 10 years and a minimum of five years prison term.

While death prophecies may not necessarily be death threats, they clearly put the subjects and/or their relatives and close friends into state of psychological trauma which could be described as a fear of death.

And for anyone who wants to really take any prophet on for such prophecies, there seems to be enough grounds for such an action.