18 Church members arrested for child trafficking
Eighteen members of the Maranatha Adventist Prayer Camp situated at Mentukwa in the Brong Ahafo Region have been arrested for alleged child trafficking.
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They were said to have trafficked some children aged between six and 18 from Aflao in the Volta Region to the camp and denied them education, medical care and the basic necessities of life.
The arrest was a collaborative effort between the Ghana Police Service and investigative reporter, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, who joined the members of the camp to have first-hand knowledge of activities there.
According to the Director of the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent of Police Mrs Patience Quaye, the leader and head pastor of the prayer camp escaped arrest, as he left before the operation, saying an intensive search had been mounted for him.
She said the members of the camp claimed, following interrogations, that they were preparing themselves to be lifted to Heaven, as prophesied by God, and that was why they decided to move away from earthly things and live in isolation.
She said two other leaders, Innocent Anamu Christ, 27, and Mary Ahiatsi Christ, 42, were among those arrested and were currently helping the police in their investigations.
She said the members had been living in the forest for the past four years, had renounced all earthly things which they claimed were devilish and fed on fruits and vegetables, while waiting patiently for the journey to Heaven.
Mrs Quaye indicated that the members of the prayer camp were initially members of the Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Church at Aflao in the Volta Region but broke away about four years ago following a prophecy by their leader, Aku Christ, that the world was coming to an end and that God had asked her to isolate the righteous from the wicked, as the former would be lifted straight to Heaven.
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She said investigations conducted by the police indicated that about 50 members of the church in Aflao bought into the prophecy and followed the main suspects, Aaron Christ and Mary Christ, to the current location, with the followers all assuming the surname Christ.
Mrs Quaye said the members were living in their own world within the forest where the children were denied education, medical care and socialisation, while the young girls had all been attached to the men as wives, as a result of which a 13-year-old girl had given birth.
The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, who was at the CID Headquarters to offer food and other relief items to the members, described the incident as very unfortunate.
According to her, removing children from their families, forcing them to work in exploitative conditions and depriving them of the opportunity to go to school were terrible crimes to be committed against them.
She said the arrest of the members had brought to the fore the lapses in the system and called on district assemblies to be more vigilant in their areas of jurisdiction in order to bring situations like that to the fore for prompt attention.
Story: Mary Mensah