The Accra High Court has sentenced three pastors to five days imprisonment each for contempt of court after they defied a court order prohibiting them from interfering with the activities of the Holy Apostolic Reformed Church (HARC).

The convicted pastors, Apostle Samuel Anang Sowah, Bishop Abraham Adjetey Adjei, and Bishop Daniel Buernor Tokoli, were found guilty of contempt for disregarding an earlier court order that barred them from conducting church services at the Tema, Teshie, and Nungua branches of the church, after being dismissed by leadership of the church.

According to a report by graphic.com.gh, the ruling was delivered by Justice William Boampong, who also imposed a fine of GH¢1,000 each on the pastors, payable to the church. This comes after the court had previously convicted the same pastors for contempt on October 27, 2023, for holding services despite a pending application for an interlocutory injunction against them.

At that time, the court had cautioned and discharged the pastors, who had already been dismissed by the church leadership. However, the three pastors proceeded to hold services at the same branches just two days later, on October 29, 2023, blatantly ignoring the court’s caution.

In his ruling, Justice Boampong emphasised that the pastors' actions constituted a direct violation of the court's authority and undermined the administration of justice.

He stated, "The court earlier cautioned and discharged the respondents in an earlier contempt case, but they went ahead and repeated what the court restrained them from doing. The respondents should therefore be made to respect the law at this time."

As a result, Justice Boampong sentenced each of the pastors to five days in prison.

The legal conflict arose after the Trustees of HARC accused the pastors of illegally breaching the church's constitution by acting independently and refusing to accept the leadership of the church's headquarters.

The plaintiffs sought a court declaration that the branches overseen by the pastors were under the control of the HARC headquarters. They also requested an order restraining the pastors from any further involvement with the church, as long as they continued to defy the leadership's directives.

NAY/ADG

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