Six persons seek to injunct Divine Healers Church Emergency Congress

Six persons have filed an injunction application against the Registered Trustees of Divine Healers Church and five other apostles of the church from holding an emergency congress.The six plaintiffs are seeking an order of injunction, restraining the defendants and their agents from holding or organising or attending an Emergency Church Congress that would take place purportedly to adopt, approve an amended Constitution of the church prior to the convening of 'an Election Congress in October 2024 to elect new General Overseer and other members of National Executive Board.'They also want the court to halt the 'formal handing over to a new General Overseer and his National Executive Board in February 2025, as contained in the Consent Judgement of the court dated June 6, 2023, pending the determination of the suit.'The Plaintiffs are also seeking an order of the court directing the defendants to immediately dissolve any committee or committees purportedly formed pursuant to the Consent Judgement and as purp ortedly provided for in the said judgement to play any 'road map' role for the current General Over seer and his National Executive Board (NEB).They are also praying the court for an order, directing the formation of a Consent Judgement Implementation Committee made up of three of the defendants' representatives and three of the plaintiffs' representatives and a member of the leadership of the General Pentecostal and Charismatic Church (GPCC) to serve a chairperson.Plaintiffs also asked for cost and damages.They said if the defendants were not stopped from holding the Annual Church Congress as scheduled, it might be 'inviting an uproar, resistance, violent rebellion involving the destruction of church and personal property.'The plaintiffs are Apostle Danel Mensah Attakpah, Chairman of the Pastoral Council of the Divine Healers Church.Other Plaintiffs namely, Reverend Philip Attakpah, Johannes Ollenu, Rev. Jonathan Nyabu, Pastor Solomon Amenyo and Pastor Ebenezer Nartey, are all pastors of the Divine Healers Church.The first defendant is the administrative body of the Divine Healer's Church.The second defendant, Apostle Isaac Kwabena Adade, is the current General Overseer of the church, the third defendant is Apostle Maxwell Aryeetey Poster, the deputy General Overseer and who assists Apostle Adade in the day-to-day administration.Apostle Kenneth Ashaley Addo, the fourth defendant, is the General Secretary of the church, the fifth defendant Apostle Emmanuel Acquaye is the chairman of the National Youth Ministry of the church and the sixth defendant, Apostle Dora Edith Osekere is the Women's Fellowship Leader.In a statement of claim, the plaintiffs said in February 2023, they issued a writ of summons and interlocutory injunction against the defendants from holding themselves in certain positions pending the determination of the suit.The defendants also filed their affidavit in opposition. However, the GPCC of which the church was a member, intervened and offered to attempt an amicable settlement.After a series of meetings, issues between the two parties were resolved, terms of settlement reduced into writing and same was adopted by the court as Consent Judgement.Plaintiffs say the very day the court entered Judgement through the adoption of settlement terms, the defendants entered the church premises and proclaim victory over the 'devils' in reference to them (plaintiffs).According to the Plaintiffs, the defendants resorted to referring to them as devils and made their lives miserable in the church and victimized church members who also aligned to them.They held that in less than two months, the defendants wielded an unparallel authority started initiating plans to render the Consent Judgement of the court dated on June 6, 2023 'nugatory'To torpedo and circumvent the Consent Judgement, the defendants organised a National Executive Board and National Trustees Meeting on July 18, 2023, and they run all affairs.The plaintiffs held that defendants have abandoned the Consent Judgement, and they were busily changing the Church's Constitution to prolong the second, third, fourth and fifth defendants in office.'The defendants have finalised their agenda to frustrate the Consent Judgement and render it nugatory by stampeding the church with an Emergency Church Congress slated for Friday 21st June 2024 to approve amendment of the Constitution of the Church.'That in the secretly prepared document, plaintiffs averred that a copy of an amendment of Constitution of the Church for adoption at Emergency Congress on Friday, June 23, 2023.According to plaintiffs, defendants have ridiculously made self-serving changes to the age limit to the effect that the retirement age must be 70 years and those already 70 and above to serve three additional years before retiring.Source: Ghana News Agency