HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP SEEKS TO JOIN CASE AGAINST"JESUS ONETOUCH " APPEAL R

By Felix Engsalige Nyaaba

 Human Rights Advocacy Centre (HRAC), a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) has filed an application at the Accra High Court seeking leave of the Court among other to be allowed to join the appeal filed by Prophet Nana Kofi Yirenkyi, a.k.a Jesus One Touch, Founder and General Overseer of Jesus Blood Prophetic Ministry.

The High Court was expected to deliver a ruling on the appeal application filed by the Man of God who was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison for defiling his biological daughter.

However, when the case was called last Friday, March 16, Mr. Justice E.F.Dzakpasu, the presiding judge told the defence counsel and a large number of people including journalists who were there to cover the case that the judgment was ready but the Human Rights Advocacy Centre had filed some undisclosed processes which  content he would first like to study.

But counsel for Jesus One Touch, Mr. K.N. Adomako Acheampong, who was so disturbed with the developments on his client appeal, challenged the legal capacity and the locus standing of the group in the matter.

He said, though he was not happy with the development, he has to comply  with the court decision since the court was the ultimate umpire in the case.

The Court however, adjourned the case to March 30, this year to deliver its ruling on the appeal.

Prophet Nana Kofi Yirenkyi, the Founder and General Overseer of Jesus Blood Prophetic Ministry,  was in  the early part of  2011 handed with  a 10-year jail term with hard labour by an Accra Circuit Court for defilement and incest of which he vehemently denied.

He however, filed an appeal challenging the decision by the Circuit Court, on the grounds that the  then trial judge, Justice Georgina Mensah Datsa,  had  erred in her ruling when  the prosecution failed to provide circumstantial evidence  to show that  he had indeed defiled his biological daughter .

Jesus One Touch, in his appeal, is praying the High Court among others to quash the judgment of the circuit Court, because the defence created enough evidence to doubt the prosecution.

According to him, “the trial judge convicted and sentenced him without adverting her mind on the evidence given by one of the prosecution’s own witnesses, ACP Dr. Samuel Amo-Mensah, an obstetrician and gynaecologist at the Police Hospital.”

The judge, he indicated, did not take into consideration the testimony of a police officer stationed at Akropong who was part of the investigating team that built the case docket and also served as an independent witness during his the trial.