Asankragwa: Pastor wanted for arson and theft of Gh¢40,000
The Asankragwa police in the Western Region has placed a pastor, Kenneth Mensah, of the Mega World Chapel International in Enchi, on their wanted list.
The pastor, aged 40, is said to have reportedly set the congregant’s house ablaze while she slept and allegedly bolted with her Gh¢40,000.
The victim, Rosemond Amoafo, planned to travel to the United Kingdom.
She had reportedly disclosed her travel plans with the pastor, who was a family friend and had been paying frequent visits to the victim’s home.
The pastor is said to have advised the victim to bring the said amount for prayers to prepare her for the trip spiritually.
The pastor is said to have taken the GH¢40,000 under the pretext of praying for a better life for her in the UK.
He told the victim that her sister was possessed by witchcraft.
After collecting the GH¢40,000 from the victim, he allegedly gave her something to drink [something the pastor reportedly said was a special holy ghost concoction].
The victim reportedly slept after taking the drink.
This was when the pastor reportedly and allegedly set the house ablaze and escaped.
The victim, however, survived and is currently on admission at the Father Thomas Allan Rooney Memorial Catholic Hospital at Asankrangwa, responding to treatment.
Police account
According to the police, the victim survived the fire due to the swift response from the Ghana National Final Service (GNFS).
An eyewitness who is also the victim’s daughter, Ms. Joana Asare said, the pastor first came to visit the family about three months ago and had since become a friend to the family and intimately involved with the victim.
She said that the pastor was also a junior of their senior brother at school and that after the first visit, the pastor became close to the victim.
The victim had recently returned from Dubai and was preparing to travel to the UK. She reportedly informed the pastor about it.
Joana Asare told the police that they sold a family land to raise GH¢40,000 to support the victim’s travel plans.
When the pastor heard about the ¢40,000, he reportedly told the victim that her senior sister was a witch and therefore required some spiritual intervention on the money and her pending travel plans or things would not work well for her in the UK.
The pastor , as part of plans to perform the spiritual cleansing, spent the night at the victim’s residence at Kwesibokro, a suburb in Asankrangwa.
The pastor asked her to recite some words on the money in the night and gave her the concoction to drink.
She reportedly slept after drinking the concoction.
Pastor Mensah reportedly took the ¢40,000, locked the door and allegedly set the house ablaze and bolted.
When contacted, the Divisional Police Commander and Chief Superintendent, Nana Kuma Kumi, confirmed the incident and said the pastor was on the run.
He urged the public to provide information about him to the police.
He said the suspect is believed to be hiding in Accra, Tema, Cape Coast, Enchi or Elubo.