Court orders church at Darkuman to relocate for noise making

The Adjabeng Court One on Thursday ordered the Faith Demonstration Ministry International at Darkuman to relocate by March 30.

The court presided over by Ms Patricia Quansah directed the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to demolish the church if it failed to comply with the order.

The Pastor of the church Mr Victor Annan was summoned to the court by the AMA Public Health Department and was charged with non-compliance with a notice to relocate, causing excessive noise nuisance in a residential area and operating a church without permit.

Prosecuting, Ms Linda Kumbonu of the AMA Public Health Department told the court that on June 28, 2012, a complaint was lodged at the Ablekuma North Sub-Metropolitan Assembly by aggrieved residents in the area in connection with excessive noise making by the church.

She said a team of health officers were dispatched to conduct inspection on the church’s premises and detected that the accused pastor had wrongly sited his church in a residential area, causing noise nuisance and operating without permit.

Ms Kumbonu said the AMA summoned the church to court and it was ordered to relocate and produce documents covering its operations.

The church suspended its operations for sometime without relocating.

It started operating again to the annoyance of the residents which compelled them to lodge another complaint with the AMA after two years.

Ms Kumbonu told the court that noise nuisance is detrimental to human health which could lead to heart diseases.