Two Lecturers, Others Before Court On Stealing Charge

EIGHT PEOPLE, including two lecturers from University of Ghana, Legon have been arraigned before the Sekondi Circuit Tribunal charged with conspiracy and stealing contrary to Section 124(c) of Act 29160.

The eight accused persons who have all pleaded not guilty to the charge are Emmanuel Kofi Nkebi, regional survey officer, Dr. John Kwasi Anaafi, a research fellow at Legon, Sampson Osae Addo, Yaw Atta Boateng, a businessman, Osei Sarfo, lecturer, Legon, Isaac Kow Okyir, building technician, Emmanuel Kofi Quagraine, pensioner and Alfred Kwame Baah, businessman.

They have been accused of stealing ?35,000,000 from accounts of one Daniel Arthur, founder and leader of Mystic Church of Ghana, but now deceased.

Mr. George Y. Kpodo from the Attorney-General's Department in Sekondi who read the facts of the case, said the complainants in the case, Daniel Kingsley Arthur and Mrs. Comfort Appiah, are the son and niece respectively of Mr. Daniel Arthur, the founder and leader of Mystic Church of Ghana.

He told the court that Daniel Arthur (deceased) first established the church at Apramdo, a suburb of Takoradi, and later extended it to Accra and Kumasi with each branch having four executive members who see to the day to day affairs of the church.

The founder later moved from Takoradi to Accra where he opened his own personal account with the Kaneshie branch of Barclays Bank with account number 3617985.

As time went on, he continued, Daniel Arthur, because of age, had some problems with the eyes, thus making it impossible for him to read.

In view of this, he took the first accused, Emmanuel Kofi Nkebi, to Barclays Bank on January 2, 1996 and after introducing him to the manager, gave him his power of attorney to deposit and withdraw money from the account on behalf of the deceased founder.

On several occasions, the deceased sent the first accused who is a member of the church to deposit and withdraw money from the account.

After his death in 1997, the family of Daniel Arthur met and appointed the complaints to take Letters of Administration and administer the property of the deceased at the High Court in Sekondi.

After the normal process, the letters of administration were granted.

Kpodo further told the court that when the complainants showed the letters of administration to the manager of Barclays Bank to submit the accounts of the deceased to them, it was discovered that the first accused person with the connivance of the other accused persons who are all members of the deceased's church, had gone to bank to withdraw monies totalling ?35million from the account on two different occasions.

The first amount of ?15million was withdrawn three weeks after the death of their head pastor in 1997.

The second one of ?20million was also withdrawn on January 27, 1998 when consent had not been sought from the family after the expiration of the authority given to the first accused by the deceased.

The complainants subsequently reported the matter to the police, who effected the arrest of all the accused persons.

According to the Kpodo police, investigations revealed that Emmanuel Kofi Nkebi, the first accused, withdrew the money with the tacit support of all the accused persons, including the two lecturers among them.

Hearing continues.