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JUDGMENT
By an amended Writ of Summons
the Plaintiff claims against the
within named Defendants:
‘(i) A declaration that
the property No 10 Chabaa
Street, West Odorkor, Accra, off
the Odorkor-Mallam Road known
and called as the “Dunamis
Temple” together with the plot
of land lying in front of the
said property is the bona fide
property of the Plaintiff.
(ii)
A declaration that the Plaintiff
is the owner of the property,
H/No 14, CP junction, New Gbawe,
Accra which said property is
currently occupied by the 1st
Defendant as duty post
accommodation and an order
ejecting the 1st
Defendant from the property
forthwith.
(iii)
A declaration that the Plaintiff
is the owner of the property
located at Gomoa Dabanyin
consisting of 6.54 acres of
land, otherwise known as the
“Prayer City” or “Payer Camp”.
(iv)
An order that the 1st
Defendant accounts to the
Plaintiff church in respect of
the Wood Processing and
Carpentry House located at
Bechem in the Brong Ahafo Region
of the Republic of Ghana and to
deliver up possession and
control of same to the Plaintiff
church immediately.
(v)
An order of account against the
Defendants from March 2005 to
date.
(vi)
An order that all properties
purportedly acquired or
registered in the name of the
purported corporate entity known
as “Christian Mission Dunamis”
since March 2005 by the
Defendants be transferred to the
Plaintiff church.
(vii)
Perpetual injunction restraining
the Defendants, their agents,
assigns and supporters from
entering any of the Plaintiff
church’s properties and from
using any of its properties.
(viii)
An order directed at Defendants
to return any church property in
their possession to the General
Secretary of Plaintiff church.
(ix)
An order directed at 1st
Defendant to transfer ownership
of all Plaintiff church’s
vehicles illegally registered in
1st Defendant’s name
into the name of Plaintiff
church.
(x)
Damages.
(xi)
Costs’.
After service on the Defendants
of the Writ of Summons and the
accompanying Statement of Claim
an appearance was entered by
them after which they filed a
Statement of Defence. At the
close of pleadings the following
issues set out in the
Application for Directions and
the Additional Issues were all
adopted for trial by the Court.
These are:
‘(a) Whether
the property No 10 Chabaa
Street, West Odorkor, Accra
known as “Dunamis Temple “ is
the property of Plaintiff-
church?
(b) Whether
H/No 14 CP Junction, New Gbawe,
Accra is the property of
Plaintiff-church?
(c) Whether
the property at Gomoa Dabanyin
is the property of
Plaintiff-church.
(d) Whether
the 1st Defendant
ought to account to the
Plaintiff-church in respect of
the Wood Processing and
Carpentry House at Bechem in the
Brong Ahafo Region?
(e) Whether
the Defendants ought to account
to Plaintiff-church for the
period March 2005 to date?
(f) Whether
the Defendants ought to be
ordered to transfer all
properties purportedly acquired
and registered in the name
“Christian Mission Dunamis“ to
the Plaintiff-church?
(g) Whether
the Defendants ought to be
restrained from entering or
using any of the
Plaintiff-church’s properties?
(h) Whether
Defendants ought to be ordered
to return all properties
belonging to Plaintiff church in
their possession to the General
Secretary of the
Plaintiff-church?
(i) Whether
the 1st Defendant
ought to be ordered to transfer
all Plaintiff church’s vehicles
registered in 1st
Defendant’s name to the
Plaintiff- church?
(j) Whether
the Plaintiff-church ought to be
awarded any general damages
(k) Whether
the Plaintiff –church is
entitled to the reliefs indorsed
on the writ of summons.
(l) Any
other issues arising out of the
pleadings’.
The Plaintiff gave evidence per
its representative Bishop Dr.
Abraham Bediako at the trial
after which four persons were
invited to testify on behalf of
the Plaintiff. The 1st
Defendant also gave evidence on
behalf of all the Defendants and
thereafter three persons
testified in support of the case
for the Defendants.
The Court finds from the
pleadings that the Plaintiff is
a church registered under the
Religious Bodies (Registration)
Law, 1989 (PNDCL 221) and was
issued with a Certificate of
Registration dated 29th
day of July 1991, exhibit ‘A’
herein. Again the Court finds
that before the issuance of
exhibit ‘A’ herein, the
Plaintiff church was
incorporated under the Companies
Code, 1963 (Act 179) as a
corporate body and was issued
with its Certificate of
Incorporation on the 22nd
day of June 1988, exhibit ‘B’
herein. These facts have been
admitted by the Defendants
herein in paragraphs 1 and 4 of
their Statement of Defence filed
on the 11th
September, 2010 and so there was
even no need for the Plaintiff
to lead evidence in proof of
same. See Fori vs. Ayirebi
[1966] GLR 627 SC.
The facts of this case are that
all the Defendants were pastors
in the Plaintiff church. On the
9th day of March,
2005 the Defendants led by the 1st
Defendant registered a church
called Christian Mission Dunamis
and were issued with a
Certificate of Incorporation
tendered in evidence as exhibit
‘8’ herein. The Defendants
nevertheless continued to work
as officers or ministers of the
gospel in the Plaintiff church
until the 9th day of
July, 2010 when they caused
their solicitor to write a
letter addressed to Bishop
Abraham Bediako titled “Re:
Break Away of Christian Mission
Dunamis”. Thereafter, the
Defendants purported to worship
and carry out other activities
in the premises of the Plaintiff
church as though the Defendants
were still members of the
Plaintiff church. Not pleased
with the activities of the
Defendants therefore the
Plaintiff issued the instant
Writ of Summons praying the
Court for the reliefs indorsed
thereon.
In respect of the first issue
set out on the additional issues
for trial that is whether or not
the Plaintiff church is a branch
of the Christian Church Outreach
Mission in Hamburg, Germany the
Court finds that the Plaintiff
church was established in Ghana
by Reverend Dr. Abraham Bediako
and other persons including the
1st Defendant herein
Apostle Waye Onyina. I find
from exhibit ‘C’ the Regulations
of the Plaintiff church that
Abraham Bediako, Vivian
Bediako, Kingsley Nimo and
Samuel Bonsu were the first
members of the Executive Council
who were the Board of Directors
of the Plaintiff church when it
was established in 1988 per
exhibit ‘B’.
The Plaintiff’s representative
Rev. Dr. Abraham Bediako had
admitted granting interview
which was recorded in the
Plaintiff church’s magazine
called the ‘Dunamis’ received in
evidence as exhibit ‘1’. I find
from exhibit 1 that a church
called Christen Gemeinde Elim
(Christian Church Elim) was
established in June 1982 in the
city of Hamburg, Germany. The
name of this church was later
changed to Christian Church
Outreach Mission. Indeed Rev.
Dr. Abraham Bediako had stated
categorically that this church
in Hamburg, Germany was
established by himself together
with other persons including
Pastor Steve Waye-Onyina the 1st
Defendant herein. I hold
therefore that the 1st
Defendant was part of those who
founded and formed the Christian
Church Outreach Mission in
Hamburg, Germany in 1982.
I find also that in the same
magazine exhibit 1 herein, the
Plaintiff’s representative
stated among others that the
Plaintiff church is a branch of
the Hamburg Church. As a branch
of the Hamburg Church, there is
ample evidence before the Court
as to the enormous support that
the Hamburg Church had given to
the Plaintiff church right from
its formative stage to its
present state. There is
evidence of the monetary
contribution made by the church
in Hamburg to the acquisition of
the land on which the Plaintiff
church’s headquarters in Accra
is built. There is evidence as
to the monetary contribution
which the Hamburg church had
made in the building of the
Plaintiff church’s headquarters
situate at NO. 10, Chabaa
Street, West Odorkor, Accra.
There is evidenced on record as
to the fact that Rev. Dr.
Abraham Bediako is the General
Overseer of the church in
Hamburg as well as its branches
world wide to the extent that he
chairs the Executive Council
Meeting whenever he is in
Ghana. I hold from all the
evidence before me that the
Plaintiff church Christian
Mission is a branch of the
Christian Church Outreach
Mission in Hamburg, Germany.
In respect of the first three
issues stated on the Application
for Directions, I find that by
exhibit ‘H’, the Plaintiff
church, per its officers Pastor
Samuel Bonsu and Pastor Stephen
Waye Onyina paid cash the sum
of ¢1.5m to Mr. Edward William
Lartey being part payment for
the purchase of land situate at
Kokroko West Odorkor. Again by
exhibit ‘J’ an indenture was
executed in favour of the
Plaintiff church by which land
situate at West Odorkor was
leased to the Plaintiff church.
Indeed, the evidence on record
shows that it is the land
conveyed by the indenture in
exhibit ‘J’ that the Plaintiff
church built its church building
which also serves as the
Plaintiff’s headquarters in
Ghana. It is this church
building that is referred to as
the “Dunamis Temple” by members
of the Plaintiff church.
The 1st Defendant has
admitted before the Court that
the land on which House No. 14
CP junction, New Gbawe, Accra
stands was donated by Rev. Dr.
Abraham Bediako to the Plaintiff
church. Indeed, the 1st
Defendant in appreciation
wrote, on behalf of the whole
church, exhibit ’11’, dated 24th
October, 1997 to thank Rev.
Bediako for his donation,.
There is also evidence on record
that the said house No. 14 CP
junction New Gbawe, Accra which
is the Mission house of the
Plaintiff church was built by
contributions from the
headquarters in Hamburg, Germany
and members of the Plaintiff
church. The 1st
Defendant has admitted that he
lives in House No. 14 CP
junction New Gbawe, Accra as his
duty post.
The 1st Defendant has
also admitted that the Plaintiff
church has acquired 6.54 acres
of land at Gomoa Dabanyin where
the church has established a
prayer camp. I am satisfied
from all the evidence on record
that the properties known as No.
10 Chabaa Street, West Odorkor
Accra, House No. 14 CP junction,
New Gbawe Accra; and the
property situate at Gomoa
Dabanyin in the Central Region
are all properties of the
Plaintiff church herein.
From the evidence on record I
find that Mercedes Benz Bus
Model 309 with Registration NO.
GR. 7763C is the property of the
Plaintiff church. This finding
is supported by exhibit ‘HH’
which are documents showing that
the said vehicle was imported by
the Plaintiff church and the
import duty paid by the
Plaintiff, evidenced by the
Certificate of payment of
customs duties dated the 23rd
January, 1996, and all the
documents attached thereto
together with the form of
application for Registration of
motor vehicle exhibited by the
Plaintiff herein.
One other vehicle that generated
some amount of controversy
during the trial is a Ford
Explorer Four Wheel Drive. The
testimony of the 1st
Defendant in respect of this
vehicle is that he owns a Four
Wheel Drive vehicle an Opel
Montenero bought for him by a
friend called Tommy Odell which
he permits Rev. Dr. Bediako to
use whenever Rev. Dr. Bediako
was in Ghana. So it came a time
that 1st Defendant
visited Germany whereupon Rev.
Bediako suggested the purchase
of another vehicle for the 1st
Defendant so that when he Rev.
Bediako comes to Ghana, he can
have the use of one of the
vehicles whiles the 1st
Defendant uses the other. The 1st
Defendant says that as a result
of this understanding the Ford
Explorer was purchased and
shipped to Ghana in his name. 1st
Defendant argues that the Ford
Explorer is therefore his
property.
It is on record that at the time
of the purchase of the Ford
Explorer, the 1st
Defendant was the Head Pastor of
the Plaintiff church. Indeed
exhibit ‘X’ shows that after the
purchase of the Ford Explorer
same was shipped to Ghana in the
name of the 1st
Defendant per the address of the
Plaintiff church.
The 1st Defendant
signed a receipt attached to and
which is part of exhibit X
acknowledging receipt of the sum
of €4875 on the 18th
August, 2003. The title of the
said receipt is “Christian
Mission International, P.O. Box
12487, Accra- North, Ghana”.
The receipt says that the 1st
Defendant has received the sum
of €4875 from the Christian
Church Mission Hamburg, Germany
“being amount donated to
the Ghana Mission to cover port
charges and clearing costs of a
Four Wheel Drive Ford Explorer”.
I have no doubt in my mind that,
from the tenor of the receipt
signed and issued by the 1st
Defendant herein that, the said
Ford Explorer was a donation by
the church at Hamburg to the
Plaintiff church in Ghana and
being the Head Pastor of the
Plaintiff church in Ghana, the 1st
Defendant was the most
appropriate person through whom
the said vehicle could be routed
to the Plaintiff church.
Otherwise, why should the
vehicle be donated to the 1st
Defendant as his personal
property but the funds for the
payment of customs duty on the
same vehicle be donated to the
Plaintiff church which is
nevertheless, required to use
same for the payment of the
customs duty. Such an argument
is definitely a non-sequitur and
fundamentally illogical. I hold
from the evidence on record that
the Ford Explorer is the bona
fide property of the Plaintiff
church and that it was not a
gift to 1st Defendant
which he can hold as a personal
property. I will make an order
upon the 1st
Defendant and consequently
direct him to transfer the Ford
Explorer, into the name of the
Plaintiff church if he the 1st
Defendant had wrongfully
registered the said vehicle in
his own name instead of the
Plaintiff’s name.
One other property whose
ownership was hotly contested by
the parties is a set of
carpentry equipment donated to
the Plaintiff church. The 1st
Defendant says that the
carpentry tools were given to
him by one Dr. Jerry Aidoo which
he in turn gave to the church.
The 1st Defendant
tendered exhibits 7 and 7A to
support his testimony on this
issue. The 1st
Defendant admitted under cross
examination that the said
carpentry equipment belongs to
the Plaintiff church. In spite
of this admission however,
exhibit 7 and 7A shows that the
1st Defendant and
others have incorporated a
company called Dunamis Wood
Works Limited. This company was
incorporated on the 25th
March, 2004 with a Certificate
to Commerce Business on the 26th
March, 2004. The Plaintiff’s
witness have tendered in
evidence exhibit ‘KK’ which
shows that the shareholders of
the said company – Dunamis Wood
Works Ltd. are the 1st
Defendant and one Amponsah
Onyina and Comfort Mills.
Meanwhile, the testimony of the
1st Defendant is that
the carpentry equipment are
being used in the said company
which he and others have
incorporated and presently
operating at Bechem in the Brong
Ahafo Region. If it is true
that the 1st
Defendant intends the benefit of
the carpentry equipment to go to
the Plaintiff church why did he
not make the Plaintiff church
the holders of the shares of the
said company. As it is the
donor of the equipment has sent
exhibit ‘JJ’ to the Plaintiff
church demanding the return of
the equipment since they are not
being used for the purpose for
which he donated them to the
church.
It is clear from exhibit ‘JJ’
and ‘JJ1’ that the donor
intended the carpentry equipment
be used for charity works in the
Northern part of Ghana and not
for the establishment of a
workshop at Bechem in the Brong
Ahafo Region. In my view the
Plaintiff is entitled to an
order which I hereby make upon
the 1st Defendant to
account, within 30 days hereof,
to the Plaintiff church in
respect of the Wood processing
and carpentry House located at
Bechem in the Brong Ahafo Region
and also deliver up possession
and control of same to the
Plaintiff church.
During the course of the
proceedings the 1st
Defendant maintained that it is
the Plaintiff church that has
metamorphosed into the entity
called the Christian Mission
Dunamis. The Court is of the
opinion that this presumption of
the 1st Defendant is
not correct and that can never
be the position of the Plaintiff
church given the evidence
assembled before the Court.
Indeed, the Plaintiff church as
already pointed out was
established per exhibit B as a
corporate entity on the 22nd
day of June, 1988 and
subsequently also registered
under the Religious Bodies
(Registration) Law 1989 PNDCL
221. The entity registered by
the 1st Defendant and
his cohorts on the 9th
day of March, 2005 is known as
the Christian Mission Dunamis.
No evidence has been adduced
before the Court to show that
the Plaintiff church has been
liquidated or has otherwise
changed its name. The Court
finds and holds that the entity
called Christian Mission
Dunamis, contrary to the
assertion by the 1st
Defendant herein, is a
completely different entity that
is separate and distinct from
the Plaintiff church and that
the assets of the Plaintiff
church cannot be transferred
into and to the name of the
Christian Mission Dunamis by the
1st Defendant herein
without the consent of the
Plaintiff. Hence, the purported
transfer of some of the assets
of the Plaintiff church such as
tithes and offerings into the
Bank account of the Christian
Mission Dunamis is fraudulent on
the part of the 1st
Defendant. The 1st
Defendant admitted under cross
examination that the monies
deposited in the account opened
for the Christian Mission
Dunamis was made up of tithes
and offerings collected from the
members of the Plaintiff
church. This conduct, in the
view of the Court, is very
fraudulent.
This has come about as a result
of the fact that although the 1st
Defendant and his accomplices
established their own church,
the Christian Mission Dunamis,
as far back as 9th March, 2005
yet the 1st Defendant
and his break-away team
continued to work in the
Plaintiff church and thus gained
the opportunity to transfer the
Plaintiff’s tithes and offerings
into the Bank account of their
newly formed church.
The 1st Defendant
also admitted that he has been
using the Mercedes Benz of the
Plaintiff to convey members of
his Christian Mission Dunamis to
and from their place of worship
at a school at Awoshie junction
known as Kateco High School.
Again this activity of the 1st
Defendant in respect of the
usage of the Plaintiff’s
Mercedes Benz Bus, in the
opinion of the Court, is very
wrongful in view of the fact
that the 1st
Defendant has left the
employment of the Plaintiff
church and had as a result, lost
the right to use the assets of
the Plaintiff to engage in
activities which are inimical to
the interest of the Plaintiff
church.
The Defendants have admitted
through the 1st
Defendant that the properties
and the assets of the Plaintiff
church belong to the Plaintiff
and no one else. Indeed that is
the position of the law as
espoused by the Supreme Court in
the case of Gateway Worship
Centre vs. David Soon Boon Seo
[2009] 24 MLRG 1 where the
Court stated at page 27 that
“the 2nd Respondent
is a company limited by
guarantee and incorporated under
the Companies Act, 1963 (Act
179). As a result, pursuant to
section 24 of the Companies Act,
it has all the powers of a
natural person of full
capacity. As such, it is a
fully – fledged legal entity,
with a personality separate from
the natural persons forming it,
and with capacity to sue and be
sued in its own name. In law,
the members of a company have no
direct proprietary rights over
its assets, the company being
the sole owner of its assets”.
The implication of the law in
relation to the instant case
therefore is that even if it was
Apostle Steve Waye Onyina alias
(SOWA) who purchased all the
properties in dispute for and in
the name of and for the benefit
of the Plaintiff church, once
the properties have been
registered as the properties of
the Plaintiff church the
Defendants cannot say that they
are taking the properties away
because they have broken away
from the church. If the law
were otherwise, no church and
indeed no legal entity can
survive their founders in this
country given the increasing
spate of break-aways that we
hear off almost on a daily basis
in our churches.
I declare therefore that the
properties known as No. 10
Chabaa Street, West Odorkor
popularly known as the ‘Dunamis
Temple’; House No. 14 CP
junction, New Gbawe, Accra; the
6.54 acres of land situate,
lying and being at Gomoa
Dabanyin known as the ‘Prayer
City’ or ‘Prayer Camp’, together
with all the properties at the
various branches of the
Plaintiff church spread over the
country are all properties of
the Plaintiff church.
I also declare that the Ford
Explorer subject matter of this
suit and the Mercedes Benz Bus
with Registration Number GR 7763
C are also properties of the
Plaintiff church.
Consequently the Plaintiff
church will be given power to
recover possession of all its
properties in the possession of
the Defendants and hence the
Defendants are ordered to
surrender possession of any
properties of the Plaintiff in
their possession to the
Plaintiff forthwith and in
particular the 1st
Defendant is ordered to vacate
House No. 14 CP junction, New
Gbawe, Accra and hand over
vacant possession forthwith to
the Plaintiff church.
The Court will also make an
order upon the 1st
Defendant and any other person
so concerned to transfer to the
Plaintiff all monies deposited
in the accounts which was opened
for the entity Christian Mission
Dunamis from 9th
March, 2005 the date of its
incorporation, to the 9th
July, 2010 the date the
Defendants formally announced
their break-away from the
Plaintiff church. This order is
made in view of the 1st
Defendant’s admission that the
monies deposited in the said
bank account are collections,
tithes and offerings collected
from the members of the
Plaintiff church.
The Defendants are also ordered
to file within 30 days from
today, an account in respect of
all receipts from the members of
the Plaintiff church and all
lawful expenditure from March
2005 to the date of 9th
July 2010.
In view of the notice of
discontinuance filed by the
Plaintiff on the 28th
October, 2010 the 2nd,
7th and the 8th
Defendants are struck out from
the Writ of Summons as no longer
necessary parties to this suit
with effect from the 28th
October, 2010.
The 1st, 3rd,
4th, 5th,
6th and 9th
Defendants together with their
agents, assigns and supporters
are hereby perpetually
restrained from entering any of
the Plaintiff’s churches and
from using any of the
Plaintiff’s properties.
The Court assesses Plaintiff’s
cost at GH¢5,000 against the 1st,
3rd, 4th,
5th, 6th
and 9th Defendants.
[SIGNED]
SAMUEL K. A. ASIEDU
JUSTICE OF THE HIGH COURT
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