The Member of Parliament for Effiduase-Asokore, Dr Nana Ayew Afriye, has filed a defamation suit in the High Court, Accra, against Rev. Isaac Owusu Bempah, Founder and Leader of the Glorious Word Power Ministry International, and the church itself, over comments the clergyman made from the pulpit earlier this month.
The writ of summons, filed at the General Jurisdiction Division of the High Court in Accra by counsel Kwasi Asokwa-Boateng of Ohene Gyan & Associates, names Rev. Owusu Bempah as first defendant and Glorious Word Power Ministry International, represented by its registered trustees, as second defendant.
The Allegations
According to the statement of claim, the dispute traces to a church service on 6 September 2026, during which Rev. Owusu Bempah is alleged to have told his congregation that “NPP” figures, including elders linked to the party’s Nasara Wing, had planned to send “thugs” to disrupt his church and had plotted against him. In the course of those remarks, he named “Ayew Afriye” as one of the people he said was behind the alleged plan, alongside two others he identified as Anthony Abayifa Karbo and “Sammy Awuku.”
Dr Afriye’s suit describes those statements as false and defamatory, arguing that they portray him as having conspired to orchestrate an attack on the clergyman and his church, an accusation the MP says has damaged his standing both nationally and among his constituents in Effiduase-Asokore, ahead of the 2028 general election.
The writ averred that a video recording of the sermon was later circulated widely on social media, and that after Dr Afriye issued a warning to Rev. Owusu Bempah demanding a retraction or evidence to substantiate the claims, the clergyman instead reappeared on social media, reported to be on a programme hosted by Bra Kojo on K-Lover Media, indicating he would not withdraw the statements and inviting the MP to pursue the matter in court.
Damages
The statement of claim sets out six reliefs, including: a declaration that the September 6 statements were defamatory of Dr Afriye; damages of GH¢10 million against the defendants; an order compelling the defendants to retract the statements with an apology;
an unqualified public apology to be published on the same platforms for fourteen days;
a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from making similar statements in future; and costs, including legal fees.
