Catholic priest entangled in paternity case

The juvenile court in Accra will on Wednesday, April 20, 2016 commence the hearing of a case in which a Catholic Reverend Father stands accused of being the father of a six-month-old boy whom he is alleged to have abandoned.

The plaintiff, Josephine Ganyoame, 24-year-old woman, has filed a suit in court accusing Rev Fr Yves-Lucien Evaga Njana, a Cameroonian Catholic priest and diplomat based in Ghana, of neglecting responsibility towards a six month-old child he allegedly fathered.

In the suit filed on April 7, the plaintiff is seeking a declaration that the respondent’s irresponsibility breaches the rights of the child to a name, basic necessities of life, welfare and social protection.

She is further praying the court to direct the Reverend Father to subject himself to a paternity test to determine the father of the baby, among other reliefs.

The Weekend Finder newspaper reports Friday that when it contacted the Rev Father Yves-Lucien Evaga Njana, he admitted having had sexual relationship with the lady but denied being the father of the child.

He claimed that he used a condom each time they had sex and could therefore not have impregnated the lady.

He indicated that all efforts to get the girl to go for a paternity test have proven futile.

Joshepine Ganyoname says she rejected the test because she wanted it ordered by a court so the result cannot be altered.

Josephine has revealed she met Rev Father Njana one night in October 2014 when she was nearly knocked down by a car driven by the reverend minister.