Yaw Sarpong, Maame Tiwaa, Prophet J.Y. Adu
The controversy surrounding Yaw Sarpong’s health heightened when Prophet J.Y. Adu, the founder and leader of New Jerusalem Chapel, contradicted himself on live radio.
Adwoa Penamang, the gospel musician's wife, has alleged that she has been unfairly treated by his family, claiming they have refused to let her care for her husband. Instead, they have allowed Tiwaa, a member of the Yaw Sarpong and Asomafo music group, who Penamang alleges is having an affair with Yaw Sarpong, to take care of the veteran musician.
Tiwaa has refuted the sexual allegations, explaining that she became the caretaker because Penamang initially rejected the family's requests to do so. Tiwaa insisted that she always excused herself whenever Penamang visited Yaw Sarpong and that nobody had denied Penamang access to him.
Tiwaa also claimed that Yaw Sarpong had told his elder brother that Penamang was no longer his wife, a statement corroborated by Prophet J.Y. Adu, who is said to be hosting Yaw Sarpong for spiritual healing as the musician battles a stroke.
In an interview on Oyerepa FM on Friday, which was monitored by GhanaWeb, Prophet J.Y. Adu insisted that Penamang has not been denied access to Yaw Sarpong. Instead, she has caused commotion whenever she visits the ailing musician.
He said, “I will not be able to recognize Penamang because she’s never spoken to me; I’ve never seen her. Since 2012, when I began taking care of her husband after he first got ill, she refused to come and take care of him. I haven’t seen her before. I’ve not spoken to her before.
“She and her children were supposed to come and take care of Yaw Sarpong, but her child said their spirits and ours are opposites, so he wouldn’t come. You also told me point-blank that you’d never come and take care of Yaw Sarpong. Based on this, we found Tiwaa to take care of him.
“Recently, when he fell ill again, they brought him to me. Whenever you came here, you and your children would fight and create a scene. You even beat my secretary, and the case was reported to the police. You were made to sign a bond of good behaviour.”
While making his point, Adwoa Penamang interjected, raising an objection over his claim that he had never seen her before. “There was a day you met me in the room and were told I’m the wife of Yaw Sarpong. You acknowledged me and said, ‘Please support me in prayer to enable me to heal your husband,’ and I responded, ‘Oh, I always pray.’ Papa, do you remember that encounter?” Penamang asked.
The prophet responded affirmatively, saying, “I duly remember. It was a one-off incident. Since then, I’ve not spoken to you again.”
She retorted, “So, why would you say you’ve never seen me before? If you claim you’ve never seen me before, you’re suggesting that my statements are false, but I will never lie against anyone.”
In response, the prophet said, “You’ve never looked for me whenever you come visiting. And even if you’re facing difficulties getting access to your husband, look for me and let me know what the issue is. Have you ever done that before?”
But Penamang disclosed that her attempts to reach the prophet were thwarted by some junior pastors. “Pastor Atta asked me not to come. Also, there was a day I was standing at the entrance of the building. You were with all your pastors, and Tiwaa was telling you something. She was speaking ill about me, so I intentionally stood at the entrance of the door. As soon as I stood there, you drove off, and all the other pastors also left,” she claimed.
In defence, the prophet said he is never selective, a claim Penamang opposed. “Tiwaa is a member of your church, so you like her. I’m not a member of your church, so you don’t like me,” said Penamang.
Meanwhile, the prophet urged Penamang to let sleeping dogs lie and pray for her husband’s recovery first, before attending to any other matters.
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Spiritual vs. medical
It can be recalled that a couple of months ago, Yaw Sarpong’s manager confirmed that the artist was indeed battling a stroke. Nana Poku Ashis, who spoke exclusively to GhanaWeb, disclosed that the "Oko Yi" hitmaker had been ill for over a year.
Reports suggest the musician was receiving treatment at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital before he was sent to New Jerusalem Chapel. Asked if he was discharged by doctors, Prophet J.Y. Adu said, “No,” suggesting that the health status of the musician “is not a hospital matter because the doctors have done their bit; it’s time for God to intervene.”
A fight over Bawumia’s GH¢100,000 donation?
Prior to the prophet’s submission, Tiwaa and Penamang clashed as both did not hold back, hurling insults at each other in their efforts to defend themselves amid a barrage of accusations from both sides. Penamang, who has been married to Yaw Sarpong for forty years, accused Tiwaa of ingratitude. She labelled Tiwaa greedy after the singer had said her only interest was for Yaw Sarpong to recover.
“I haven't gained anything from singing with Yaw Sarpong, but he’s a good man. I believe better days are ahead. He has made me popular, and because of him, I have travelled abroad several times, so I can’t abandon him when he’s sick," said Tiwaa.
"You’re ungrateful. If you weren’t benefiting from being with him, would you have stayed? Everyone knows about your activities in Bohyen. Despite everything I’ve done for you, you want to repay me with evil. I have helped you. You’re always focused on amassing wealth; you’re even asking Eddie for a key. How dare you! Why are you so greedy?" Adwoa Penamang fumed in response.
Tiwaa retorted, suggesting that Adwoa Penamang is agitated and now showing some sort of concern because of Vice President Bawumia's donation. She said, "If you weren’t greedy, would you have fought over Bawumia’s donation?"
Meanwhile, Adwoa Penamang mentioned that she had suggested using part of the money to complete Yaw Sarpong’s housing project at Kokosu. However, her suggestion was objected to by the family, who claimed the funds were not meant for such a project. According to her, they ended up squandering the money.
Watch the conversation between Prohet J.Y. Adu and Adwoa Penamang from the 1 hour 25 minutes mark of this video
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