BENCH WARRANT FOR MENSAH OTABIL'S MAN,REV. AGYEMFRA

By Felix Engsalige Nyaaba

An Accra Circuit Court yesterday issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Rev. Pastor Edward Kwadwo Agyemfra, the Head Pastor of the McCarthy Hill Branch of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) , for failing to appear before the court to answer charges of unlawful trespassing and causing unlawful damage to property at Ogbolo,  near Weija in Accra.

He has been charged with the crime, together with three other persons of the Kwatei Family Stool of Gbawe, for using a bulldozer to unlawfully destroyed property worth GHC30, 000 belonging to one Joseph William Baiden, on a 1.38 acres land to pave the way for the construction of his church building.

The   court presided over by Mrs. Patience Mills-Tetteh, took the decision after several  attempt and notices to get Rev. Agyemfra had failed.

However, his  accomplices, Nii Adam Kwasi Quartey , Head of the Kwatei Family,  Solomon Afutu Quatey, Secretary to the Kwatei  family  and Patrick Allotey , representative of the Kwatei  family ,  were in court.

They are facing charges of conspiracy to commit crime, sale of land without lawful authority and causing unlawful damage to property without lawful authority.

The three are currently on bail in the sum of GHC50, 000 with two sureties each and are to reappear on June 5, this year for trial.

Rev. Agyemfra and his accomplice were arrested by the Greater Accra CID of the Ghana police services in July, last year, after Mr. Baiden had lodged a complaint of trespassing and causing of unlawful damage to his story building foundation and a washing bay located at the McCarthy Hill in Accra.

According to the prosecution, Rev. Agyemfrah, during investigation, said that he acquired the land from the Kwatei Stool Family at Gbawe .

He said, the head, the secretary and the other representatives of the Kwatei family were invited to the Regional Police CID for questioning and during the investigation; both parties produced their site plans and Indentures claiming ownership of the land.

According to the prosecutor, all the site plans and the indentures produced to the police by the parties were forwarded to the Lands Commission for verification as to the rightful owner of the land.

According to the prosecutor, upon verification, it turned out the complainant   genuinely procured the land from the Akumajay Stool Land but the Kwatei family of Gbawe .

The prosecutor said that while the   matter was being investigated, Rev. Agyemfra went ahead and demolished the complainant‘s structures for the construction of a church building.