Angry church members assault reporters

Three reporters from Adom FM including a news editor, Nii Narku Dorwuona and a news anchor Kofi Adomah, were Monday assaulted by angry members of the Mighty Chapel International near Kotobabi, Accra.

One of the affected reporters, Isaac Kwadwo Owusu, had gone to the church to follow up an assault case on some former members of the church.

Immediately he entered the church premises and was detected to be a journalist, the members seized his recorder, beat him up mercilessly and detained him. His plea to be allowed to see the head pastor, Chief Mensah, whom he had gone there to interview, fell on deaf ears.

A church member took the phone number of Adom News Editor Dowuona from Owusu and called him to go rescue the reporter. The Editor went to the church in the company of three others to intervene, but before they could set eyes on the reporter, they were also manhandled and eventually assaulted.

The Editor, Nii Narku Dowuona, had his shirt and trousers torn by two women while Kofi Adomah's camera was seized; he was dragged into the church auditorium and eventually into the pastor's office.

Recounting his ordeal on Adom FM, Nii Narku Dowuona said they were attacked outside the church premises just because they are journalists.

He observed that the enigmatic members of Mighty Chapel International were behaving like "rascals" ostensibly to protect their pastor, Chief Mensah.

"The church members could not see the simple wisdom in we going there to get their pastor's side of the story, which is what journalists do," Dowuona said.

Narrating his side of the story to Myjoyonline.com, Kwadwo Owusu said he had information that former members of the church had been beaten allegedly on the orders of the pastor for denigrating him.

He said after visiting the Kotobabi Police Station where the case was reported, he decided to go to the church, which is just a walking distance from the police station, to get the pastor's side of the story.

Owusu said when he got to the church, the atmosphere there was charged, but the head pastor was busily doing consultation for some of his followers. His harmless attempt to get a word from the pastor earned him merciless beatings and detention as the angry church members captured him and threatened to lynch him.

The case has been reported at the Kotobabi Police Station. Meanwhile, the Ghana Journalists Association has also been informed.