Graphic Reporter attacker put before court

The Protocol Officer of the Glorious Wave International Church, Isaac Ampofo, who allegedly assaulted a Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) journalist, Della Russel Ocloo, has been granted bail by an Accra Magistrate Court.

The court, presided over by Mr Isaac Addo, granted Ampofo, 44, bail in the sum of GH₵8,000, with one surety.

Ampofo, who pleaded not guilty to the charge of assault, appeared before the court on Tuesday, October 15, almost three months after the incident, in which Ms Ocloo was allegedly assaulted by Ampofo while she covered a demonstration against the Head Pastor of the church, Prophet Emmanuel Badu Kobi, over ethnocentric comments he had allegedly made.

Making a case for bail, counsel for the accused person, Mr Ebenezer Gohoho, said Ampofo was a responsible married man with children who was not a flight risk and would appear before the court for the trial.

Facts of the case

The facts of the case, according to the prosecution, were that on August 4, 2019, a group of women embarked on a demonstration at the Glorious Wave International Church following some comments deemed ethnocentric made by Prophet Kobi on July 28, 2019, advising men in his church not to marry women of Ashanti, Ewe and Fante descent.

According to the prosecutor, Chief Inspector George Antwi, the complainant was  sent by her employer to cover the demonstration and seek audience with Prophet Kobi on the comments he had made.

He said the complainant arrived on the church premises at 11:30 a.m., but realised that the demonstrators had dispersed.

“The ushers ushered her into the church auditorium, where she sat through the service. When the service was getting to a close, Prophet Kobi walked through the seats, whereby the church members showered praises and adoration on him.

“It was at that stage that the complainant, who was seated at the rear of the congregation, used her mobile phone to record proceedings,” he said.

Chief Inspector Antwi said Ms Ocloo was spotted by a photographer of the church, Mr Ato Kwamena Duker, who asked her to stop the video recording, but she did not.

“He drew the attention of the accused person to the recording, who also approached the complainant and questioned her about her mission in the church and ordered her to delete the video recordings from her phone, but she refused,” the prosecutor said.

Attack

He said a struggle ensued between some of the church members, including the accused person, and the complainant.

“She was taken outside the church auditorium to the compound where two policemen assigned to monitor the demonstration rescued and took her to the Sakumono Police Station,” he said.

The prosecutor said at the police station, she was asked to delete the video from her phone, but she refused.

Complaint

Chief Inspector Antwi said at 8:10 p.m., Ms Ocloo returned to the Sakumono Police Station to report a case of assault against 15 members of the church and specifically mentioned the accused person as one of the people who had assaulted her in a statement.

He said the complainant was issued with a police medical form to attend hospital for treatment.

The case was transferred to the Regional CID/Accra for further investigations.

Chief Inspector Antwi said on August 15, 2019, a team of investigators from the Regional Criminal Investigations Department/Accra, Sakumono and the complainant visited the crime scene, where she showed them where she had stood to record with her mobile phone when she was assaulted.

Arrest

Subsequently, the accused was arrested the next day, but he denied the offence in his caution statement.

However, the prosecutor said the police medical form issued to the complainant and endorsed by Dr Joel Bondorin, a Medical Officer at the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority in Tema on August 5, 2019 disclosed that the complainant had a “mild swelling at the right wrist and a decreased range of joint motion shoulder”.