....but the ‘Oldman’ was not asleep

For Anthony Akorli, a 45-year-old resident of Abeka Lapaz in Accra, the announcement by the Tesano Baptist Church in Accra that Sunday, December 9, 2001, had been set aside as a tithe-collection day was an ideal opportunity for him to steal and make some money.

So he hatched a plan. He must have his share of the tithe; fair or foul all must not go into the work of God. On that fateful Sunday, Akorli dressed nicely, joined the congregation and pretended to be worshipping with them. He walked straight into the church hall and chose a strategic position beside the tithe collection box.

A few minutes later, the resident pastor led by the choir also entered the church hall to begin the day’s service. The pastor began the sermon but Akorli had his eyes firmly set on the money box, finding ways and means to steal the money.

The opportunity came when the time for praises was announced. The congregation stood up, sang, danced and threw their hands into the air in praise of the Lord. Akorli joined in the praise and worship and in the midst of the frenzy, he thought all eyes were off the collection box. But he was wrong.

Besides God’s invisible eye, there was another eye - the eye of another member of the congregation. Akorli danced stylishly around the bowl and smartly picked one of the envelopes, which he hid under his armpit. He went back to his seat. No one noticed him, or so he thought.

But the other eye was determined to make sure God was not robbed. So the member walked from behind and whispered what he saw to the pastor. The pastor brought proceedings immediately, to a halt.

Akorli was confronted, but he denied taking the money from the tithe box. He was asked to raise his hands. He did it obediently and lo and behold the envelope fell on the floor.

For some of the people, it shows God is great. While some shouted “thief, thief, thief,” others used similar exclamations in different languages in response to the exposure. The envelope was examined and it was found to contain ?40,000. Mr Abu Mohammed, a member of the church, indicated having dropped that envelope in the box as his tithe for that month.

Ashamed of himself, Akorli took refuge in one of the church’s rooms. He was however, pursued by the congregation. He then decided on one thing as a means of escape. He eased himself, made a ball out of it and splashed it on the walls. This was enough to give him a breathing space.

The crowd went wild into a stampede. At this point, it was everybody to himself and God for us all as they took to their heels. His intention was to desecrate the House of the Lord with the faeces and get away. But this angered some of the worshippers who defied the consequences of his action and charged on him. They eventually overpowered him but not without being baptized with the faeces. The escorted him to the Tesano Police Station amidst shouts of “thief, thief, thief…” from the congregation.

But when he appeared before the Amasaman Community Tribunal on December 20, 2001, he said he had done nothing criminal. He pleaded not guilty to a charge of stealing. The chairman of the tribunal, Mr W.K. Owusu told the accused that he was shocked about his behaviour. The case was adjourned while Akorli has been granted ?1 million bail.