Settle your dispute amicably – Judge told the Apostolic Church of Ghana

General News on Thursday, April 11, 2019

Source: Graphic.com.gh

2019-04-11

The High Court of Accra gave a second opportunity to two conflicting parties in the Apostolic Church of Ghana to reach an amicable settlement. The court, presided over by Judge Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, gave the directive last Tuesday as a result of the inability of both parties to reach an agreement as initially ordered by the court.

The dispute that led the church to justice concerns the age of its general secretary, the apostle Alex Kwaku Ofosu.

Suit

Three church members sued the apostle Ofosu for allegedly altering his age to allow him to remain in office.

The plaintiffs – Emmanuel Tetteh Nyumgor, William Okyere and Ernest Teye – claim that the Apostle Ofosu has reached the age of 65, being the retirement age of church officers, January 28, 2018.

However, they claim that the Secretary-General "voluntarily deformed his date of birth in the church, claiming that it was January 28, 1956, when his actual date of birth was January 28, 1953".

The Apostolic Church of Ghana and the National Council, which is the governing body of the church, are also parties to the dispute.

The plaintiffs further filed an application for an interlocutory injunction order preventing the Apostolic Church of Ghana from recognizing the apostle Ofosu as general secretary of the church until 39. at the final decision of the prosecution.

Although the apostle Ofosu has not yet filed a defense, he denied the charges against him in his response to the petition of the three members of the church before the National Council.

"I want to insist that I am neither responsible nor guilty of the offense of dishonesty or conduct that would cause the reputation of the secretary general of our famous church, ridicule or outrage," he said.

Blues settlement agreement

When the case was heard for the first time on March 5, 2019, Madam Justice Asare-Botwe pleaded with both factions to settle the case amicably, as it was not necessary to hear the case. It was not preferable that the case be dealt with in court.

She then appointed a senior lawyer, Solomon Adjetey, to mediate in order to badist in reaching an agreement between the two parties.

The case was sent back to March 18, 2019 to allow the parties to report to the court on the settlement agreement.

However, on that day, both parties asked the court to give them more time to reach an amicable settlement.

Madam Justice Asare-Botwe agreed and gave them three weeks to reach an agreement. Once again, citing various pbadages from the Bible, she encouraged them to settle the case amicably.

Once the three weeks pbaded, both parties went to court last Tuesday, but without reaching an agreement.

The mediator presented his report to the court and explained that no settlement had been reached.

"A church should not be in court"

Madam Justice Asare-Botwe was not enthusiastic about this development and asked the lawyers of both parties when it was very possible for their clients to reach an agreement.

The plaintiffs' lawyer, Mr. Eddie McCarthy, argued that both parties had only one meeting, which yielded no positive results.

"Find a way to settle this case. What do leaders and clergy of a church do in a mundane court? Try one last time. Sunday is Palm Sunday and take advantage of it to reach an agreement, "she said.

Madam Justice Asare-Botwe ordered the parties to go back and settle the case amicably, but clarified that if they did not do so, she would hear the injunction and then dismiss it. Action at the bottom.

This time, she indicated that the parties could meet and have discussions before meeting with their lawyers and the mediator.

The case was postponed until April 16, 2019.