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ARS General Conference removes Nyeenyami Etsey Wovenu as leader in a vote of no confidence
The executive committee (governing body) of the Apostles Revelation Society (ARS) at its General Conference held at Tadzewu last Saturday, September 26, 2020 removed Rev. Nyeenyami Etsey Wovenu as leader and chairman of the society.
The governing body chaired by Vice Chairman, Torgbui Awli IV in a vote of no confidence, accused Rev. Etsey Wovenu of neglecting the church constitution and preventing unity in the church, by refusing to extend peaceful overtures to estranged members, who wanted to come back to build a united church.
The conference had, therefore, asked him to hand over to the executive committee of the governing body.
Other charges levelled against him included his continued refusal to adhere to court orders; refusal to attend conferences and meetings; sale of church lands, unilateral suspension of pastors and church members, incarceration by an Accra Court and bonded by a court in Ho to be of good behaviour or serve two years imprisonment.
The rest are habouring of ‘machomen’ in the church premises to attack members he begrudged, unilateral decisions pertaining to the church and sexual offences.
The General Conference, said, having exhausted all available means to call their leader to order they had no options, but to vote him out of office as leader and chairman of the church.
The General Conference have, therefore, appointed a 5-member interim spiritual heads made up of mostly his own brothers and sisters to uplift the spiritual needs of members.
The members are Mama Kekelifia Afeanyetornye I, Rev. Gershon Selaenyezi Wovenu, Rev. Mawutor Wovenu, Rev. Veliane Wovenu-Goka, Rev. Kpormor Wovenu, and would serve for a period of one year, within which a substantive leader and high priest would be elected.
The executive committee, however, continued to head the general administration of the church in accordance with a declaration by the late C.K.N. Wovenu, founder of the church which said categorically that, on his passing to eternity, the administration of the church should be assumed by the executive committee of the church’s governing body.
This assertion was also upheld by a High Court, presided over by Mr Justice K.A. Ofori-Atta in a suit titled Rev. M.M.C Dogbe and others (plaintiffs) versus Rev. Nyeenyami Etsey Wovenu and others (defendants) some years ago.
The executive committee also cited a story in the May, 26, 2020 edition of the Ghanaian Times in which a Ho High Court convicted Rev. Nyeenyami Etsey Wovenu for refusing to involve all the executive members of the ARS in the celebration of the recent 79th anniversary of the church, at Tadzewu in the Volta Region.
He was bonded to be of good behaviour for one year or in default serve a two-year jail term in hard labour.
Rev. Wovenu was earlier found guilty in 2011 over similar issue by an Accra High Court, and was sent to prison for 14 days.
A senior confidant of Rev. Nyeenyami Etsey Wovenu, who pleaded anonymity, told The Spectator on Tuesday in a telephone interview that his boss still remained the leader of the ARS and that all allegations made against him were false and a frame-up.
He said Rev. Nyeenyami Etsey Wovenu would react at the appropriate time.
By Francis Xah
THE typical itinerant salesman in Sikaman is a herbalist. He is normally a slim macho with the capacity to perambulate the expanse of area covering the triangle of Accra-Tema-Ashiaman. In short, he can walk a total of 60 miles a day, marketing a product that cures every disease, including poverty. 
The door-to-door herbal pharmacist advertises his product by word of mouth. He has nothing to do with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB). After all, his concoctions do not feature on FM stations.
Those herbalists who cannot walk to propagate the herbal gospel, liaise with drivers of mass transportation and their mates. They are, therefore, given the chance to sell their products on Benz buses that ply the routes.
Normally, the herbalist starts his sales message with a prayer and Bible study. He asks the passengers to bow down their heads in supplication to God the father, the son, the Holy Spirit.
When a herbalist asks the passengers to close their eyes and bow their heads, Moslems on board naturally feel offended. They feel that the herbalist has no right to assume that every passenger is a Christian. They think such an assumption is an affront to Islam.
So a Moslem on board will raise the hand for a point of order. He’ll remind the herbalist that it would be in his own interest to mind his language.
“Be careful the way you address people in a public place. Not every person here is a Christian,” he’d state assertively.
Of course, the herbalist will promptly ignore him, but would all the same “watch” his tongue. Who knows whether or not the Moslem brother is inspired by Quoranic zeal to defend the tenets of Islam to the hilt?
When he starts saying, “Wallahi!” and “Inshallah!” it could be the beginning of proclaiming Islam as supreme, a point which must be driven home with talibanic precision.
So the herbalist must tread carefully lest he steps on fire.
The herbalist could even add a measure of mirth to it all, by announcing that Christians on board today have very interesting company on the journey, but that should not detract from the business of the day.
The Moslem brother will weigh the words carefully and offer a wry smile.
He must be careful the occasion does not degenerate into the use of semantics and proverbial oration to deride his conviction that public utterances must be mindful of religious sensibilities. He has made his point very clear and expects that it is taken in good faith in the interest of a peaceful journey.
The herbalist will now open the New Testament and preach salvation, stating clearly that salvation can come only through Jesus Christ and NOBODY else.
The Moslem brother will now start twitching his moustache. The visible and almost revolutionary reflexes of his upper lip can be an indication that sentiments have begun superseding reason, and the outcome could well be tragic now shift uneasily in his seat.
The time has come for him to also express his right to the religion of his fore-bears. He’ll put his hand into his pocket and rise to his feet. The time has indeed come!
This article was first published on Saturday, September 9, 2006
When the cause of a particular problem like sickness, disease, sudden illness, a social issue etc. are not known, it stands to reason that resolving it becomes a huge challenge.
Citizens would understand the government when public announcements are made to the effect that government is trying to find a solution to the issue, even though it is taking a while for it to be resolved because citizens are rational beings.
On the other hand, if the solution to a particular issue is known to everybody but the government for whatever reason, is dragging its feet in resolving it, citizens become frustrated and begin to lose trust in their leaders.
One such issue is the heavy traffic along a section of the Kasoa – Odokor road. A short stretch of bad road between the traffic light at the Weija Government Hospital and the entrance to the entrance of the overhead that leads to the N1, is the cause of the problem but nothing is being done about it, day after day, week after week, month after month. Thus is clearly unacceptable.
Another issue that requires urgent attention is the lack of pavements along a lot of streets in parts of the various Municipal Assemblies. Exercise is a prerequisite for long life and healthy living and for those of us who it has become a way of life, this issue of people putting up structures right to the edge of the drains beside the roads, are making life difficult for us.
We are compelled to walk along the roads, putting our lives at serious risk. Pedestrians should never be compelled to compete with vehicles on our streets and roads. Roads and streets are made for vehicles and pavements are made for pedestrians. That is the norm. Any attempt to normalise a situation where pedestrians are mingling with vehicles is insanity.
It is the road regulations that makes it so and therefore district or municipal assemblies are to take responsibility and ensure that spaces for pavements are not encroached upon. Citizens have rights that must be protected by their leaders and making pavements available to pedestrians, is one of them.
When we hear of teachers having sex with students, it appears it is something recent. It is not a new phenomenon. It has been there since Adam. Perhaps this issue is getting much attention due to the proliferation of social media. It was an open secret in times past when Teachers were in relationships with female students and some married them immediately after completion of school.
Some teachers were also known to be having unholy interactions with female pupils but due to the times that these acts occurred, human rights issues and the awareness around it, allowed such unscrupulous teachers to get away with their crimes.
Now we are in a different era and so a Headmaster is now in hot waters. He is alleged to have raped about 19 female students and as usual, some officials tried to cover it up and are also in hot waters and their actions or inactions in the matter are under investigation.
Why the man has been allowed to roam freely without being arrested is simply mind boggling. It appears that the law applies differently, depending on who you are. This issue came to public attention sometime in August this year, yet the police had not arrested or invited this man for question regarding the rape allegation.
It has come out that he is a Constituency Secretary of the ruling party and the question in the public domain is that, is it because he is a political figure that is why he is still walking around without questioning? I believe in the rule of law so let us hold our breadth and let the proper thing be done.
The police must however be seen to be active in this matter. God bless.
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