The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, stormed the House of Bethel Ministry’s Watch Night Service on Saturday morning, and ordered its Head Pastor’s arrest, claiming that the church was making ‘too much noise’.
Police at KNUST have since granted bail to the Church’s Head Pastor, Reverend Kwame Takyi, after he had spent some hours behind bars.
The police picked up Rev. Takyi, and detained him at the KNUST police station, after seizing the church’s sound equipment.
House of Bethel Ministry Head Pastor, Reverend Kwame Takyi
Mr. Osei Mensah stormed the church building with armed Police officers at Anwomaso-High Tension, a suburb in Kumasi, and ordered them to halt an ongoing Watch Night Service because of the noise making.
The church members said the Minister’s “Rambo Style” was unfortunate, as they rather expected him to engage the leadership of the church on the issue.
The Ashanti Regional Minister, who lives close to the church, had stormed the premises around 12:30 am, to warn the congregation for the first time, and later came in with the police officers at about 2:00am to order the arrest of the head pastor.
The Secretary of the House of Bethel Ministry, Stephen Osei, narrating the incident to Citi News “The regional Minister came to our church and he said we were making noise as it was time for him to sleep. He entered there and told us to stop the noise. Our pastors wanted to speak to him but he wasn’t ready to speak to our pastors.”
Mr. Osei also said the Regional Minster used “all sort of abusive words” against them.
The church’s Secretary also suggested that police carried out the arrest unwillingly.
“At a point, the police felt the noise that was going on wasn’t something that could disrupt the place because it is a programme we do every last Friday of the Month. He [the Regional Minister] has always been here with us and this time, we felt surprised this thing was going on.”
Attempts by Citi News to reach the Regional Minister have so far been unsuccessful.
Although there are by-laws on noise making, they are mostly not enforced.