Accra, Aug. 4, GNA – The Musama Disco Christo Church (MDCC), has filed a contempt case against 10dissident members at the Agona Swedru High Court for disregarding the decision of the Supreme Court.
They are Miritaiah Jonah Jehu-Appiah, Reverend Adansi-Fofie, Rev Peter Ohene-Ansah, Rev Isaac Nyankom, Madam Janet Obosu, Madam Cecilia Adjei, Prophetess Susanna Koufie, Madam Grace Abrokwa, Madam Janet Abban and Madam Esther Ninson.
The affidavit in support of the application said in March 2003, the Applicant Church by its Solicitor, instituted an action against the 1st respondent seeking among other reliefs a declaration that he Miritaiah Jehu-Appiah should be removed from office as Akaboha and General Head Prophet of the Applicant Church was lawful and proper and other consequential orders.
These included in particular an order that the 1st Respondent be, whether by himself, his servants, agents, privies whomsoever or otherwise howsoever, perpetually restrained from holding himself out in any manner whatsoever as the Akaboha or Leader and General Head Prophet or as any kind of office holder of the MDCC.
Dissatisfied with the decision of the High Court, Miritaiah Jehu-Appiah appealed to the Court of Appeal.
On March 26 March 2009, the Court of Appeal as constituted by their Lordships Asare Korang, Kusi Appiah and V.D. Ofoe, dismissed the appeal launched.
Aggrieved by, and dissatisfied with the decision of the Court of Appeal, Miritaiah Jehu-Appiah launched another appeal against the decision to the Supreme Court.
The Court as constituted by their Lordships Atuguba, Adinyira, Gbadegbe, Benin and Akamba, on November 11, 2015, dismissed the appeal and upheld the judgments of the trial High Court and the Court of Appeal.
The 1st Respondent filed an application for review of the decision of the Supreme Court, which was subsequently withdrawn without liberty to reapply by the new lawyer of the 1st Respondent engaged under some inexplicable circumstances.
It said Miritaiah Jehu-Appiah had over the years employed several legal gymnastics to scuttle the celebration of the Peace Festival of the church and his modus operandi has been to bring application for injunction on the last minute to stop the sacred religious activity.
In 2012 and 2013 the 1st Respondent, in a show of bad faith employed or procured the cooperation of partisan and pliable police officers to seek ex-parte injunction from the lower courts hours before the start of the festival to disrupt it.
“In 2014 the 1st Respondent’s lawyer filed a similar application on August 14. However the return date for the hearing of the application was fixed for October 4, 2014, knowing very well that the celebration he sought to prevent was to be held from August 24 to September, 3 2014.
About 18 elders of the church were, at the instance of the 1st Respondent, hauled before the Supreme Court on a charge of contempt and each of them was convicted and sentenced to a fine of GH₵ 5000, for having participated in the celebration of the 2014 Peace Festival.
It said despite the clear stipulations in the judgments, the 1st Respondent and his ilk continues, in total defiance of the Court, to hold services in the name of the church in the now-under-construction pavilion.
The affidavit said even though all the respondents have knowledge and understand the import of the decisions of Supreme Court, they continue to defiantly disobey its peremptory and injunctive orders.
It said every Sunday, a pavilion is used as the “official” place of worship by the dissident group in the name of the church.
“Indeed the church has information that the dissident group is even planning to hold the annual “Peace Festival” of the church from August 2016 instead of the Church’s official date of August 24, 2016.
“We have been advised by counsel and we believe same to be true that conduct of the Respondents is contemptuous of the Courts including the Supreme Court and that unless they are given the harshest of punishments; the Respondents will continually treat the courts with contempt.
“ That we contend further on the advice of counsel that unless they are punished by the court to serve as a deterrence, the conduct of the Respondents, which holds the seed of discord and mayhem, may compel the peace-loving members of the church (in their belief that the courts are not giving them justice) to forcibly attempt to restrain the Respondents from further embarking on this sacrilegious mission.