hFormer President John Mahama has attacked the founder and leader of the Glorious Word Ministry International, Prophet Owusu Bempah, following his claim that the former president is plotting to kill him and others.
In a statement issued by his Special Aide, Joyce Bawah Mogtari, the former President claims Prophet Bempah’s comment is a deliberate attempt to distract the attention of Ghanaians from issues of “bad governance” of the current administration.
The statement went on to question the credibility of the man of God, saying “never in the entire account of the Bible has there been any anointed prophet of God who only praises a king and turns a blind eye to the evils committed in his reign.”
Prophet Bempah is said to have claimed on Accra-based radio station Oman FM that the former president and some other people had met to plot to kill him because of his prophecy that Mr. Mahama cannot win the 2020 presidential elections.
According to reports, the pastor is said to have stated that others on the list to be killed include President Akufo-Addo, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong, and New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, aka Chairman Wontumi.
But the former president, in a statement issued by his Special Aide, condemned the pastor, describing his statement as the imaginations of a warped mind.
“I am directed by Mr. Mahama to state that the claims of the said pastor are false. They remain imaginations of a warped mind and effusions of a politically-tainted founder of a church who would say and do anything to attract attention to himself.”
“As a known surrogate of the Akufo-Addo government, the said Owusu Bempah’s statements are clearly calculated to distract the attention of the suffering masses of Ghana from the mounting issues of bad governance, corruption, insecurity, hardship and dishonesty”, the statement noted.
Mr. Mahama added that “it is disgraceful that someone who claims to be a prophet of God would readily agree to be used to broadcast lies emanating from a vivid imagination instead of preaching the word of God. Never in the entire account of the Bible has there been any anointed prophet of God who only praises a king and turns a blind eye to the evils committed in his reign”.
‘Holy War’
In related development, XYZ BROADCASTING Company Limited, parent company of Accra-based radio XYZ, has called for the arrest of Prophet Owusu Bempah.
The company has also called on the police and other security agencies to protect its staff.
That was after the prophet had allegedly led four gun-wielding and stoutly-built men to the company’s office at Osu, a suburb of Accra, at 10:00am on Friday.
According to the company, most of its morning shows were about ending when the prophet and his ‘gun boys’ stormed its offices.
“They made their way to the reception after ignoring protocol at the security checkpoint and demanded the whereabouts of the host of Inside Politics on Radio XYZ, Mugabe Maase,” management of XYZ Broadcasting Company Limited said in a new release.
The release indicated that “Prophet Owusu Bempah was, however, directed to the company’s administrator but declined to follow our due process.”
It added that “speaking on top of his voice, he demanded to see Mugabe but the administrator reiterated the fact that he was not on the premises. Prophet Owusu Bempah rained insults on the administrator and the men accompanying Bempah pushed and shoved him (the administrator) going further to seize the phone of the janitor.
“Bempah went on to hurl insults at former President John Mahama and staff of XYZ Broadcasting. He (Owusu Bempah) threatened, on top of his voice, to end the life of Mugabe Maase.”
According to the release, “XYZ Broadcasting Limited has officially reported the incident to the East Legon Police Command”.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak & Melvin Tarlue