The Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, The Most Rev. John Bonaventure Kwofie, CSSp,this week prayed for Indian Missionary Priests who were assaulted in the Jasikan Diocese of the Oti Region.
The Indian Missionary Priests are currently receiving treatment in Accra.
According to a police statement dated December 12, the priests were traveling with officials from the Nkwanta South Municipal Assembly, including the Municipal Engineer, to Chieso to inspect a plot of land.
They were using machinery from the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP) for land clearing when they were confronted by local youth.
The youth misinterpreted their actions as stealing the equipment and subsequently accosted the priests, leading to one of them sustaining injuries.
The police have vowed to ‘leave no stone unturned’ until they apprehend the suspects to face justice.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Police Service has reported that no major incidents have been recorded in the past 24 hours.
According to the Vicar-General of the Catholic Diocese of Jasikan, Monsignor Joseph Kofi Nsiah, they had gone to hire a bulldozer from the Nkwanta-South Municipal Assembly to work on a piece of land they were preparing to construct a Formation House project for seminarians at Chaiso in the Nkwanta-South Municipality.
They paid an amount of GH¢9,700 and were accompanied by the two officials to move the equipment to the site at Chaiso.
Monsignor Nsiah said they were at a filling station to fuel the equipment when they were attacked by the mob, who accused them of trying to steal the equipment.
He said for 30 minutes, they were beaten mercilessly until they were rescued by officers of the Ghana Immigration Service.
The mob then reported to the police that the priests were stealing one of the Assembly’s road equipment.
The Vicar-General stated that upon this report, they were remanded into police custody, and the equipment was impounded. Upon the intervention of the Vicar-General, they have been granted bail pending further investigation.
The Catholic Diocese of Jasikan has strongly condemned the brutal attack on three priests of the Franciscan Capuchin Order in Nkwanta, Oti Region.
In a press statement issued by the Diocese, the Bishop, clergy, and lay faithful described the violence as “unjustifiable” and called for immediate action to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The attack occurred on December 11, 2024, in the Nkwanta South Municipality. The three priests, stationed at St. Michael Parish in Kpassa, Nkwanta North District, were reportedly on a mission that the diocese highlighted as being beneficial to the Nkwanta South Municipality and Ghana as a whole.
The Catholic Church in the Diocese of Jasikan and Ghana, in general, takes a serious view of this unwarranted attack on the three innocent priests,” the press release stated. It further called on the authorities to ensure the safety and security of all citizens, particularly foreign missionaries, noting that decisive action on such incidents would serve as a deterrent to future acts of violence.
By Cornelius Dordunu//Newswatchgh.com
