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Bishop Obinim flanked by family and friends after his acquittal

Bishop Obinim acquitted and discharged

Bishop Daniel Kwadwo Obinim, Founder of Godsway International Ministry, who was accused of vandalising an Accra based radio station and its staff was on Thursday acquitted and discharged by an Accra High Court.

The court presided over by Mr Justice Iddrisu Abduallai noted the prosecution failed to prove its case against Bishop Obinim after calling three witnesses to make their case.

According to the court, evidence of the three prosecution witnesses were discredited and that the court could not reasonably convict Bishop Obinim, and hence acquitted him.

His acquittal was greeted with applause from sympathizers and relations who accompanied him to the courtroom. Others jubilated outside the courtroom.

However, the trial judge interjected: “If you want to go to Nsawam then keep clapping in court.”

For the first time Bishop Obinim dressed in blue black suit, came to court with his wife, Florence Obinim who sat close to him until her husband mounted the dock.

Bishop Obinim in his defence denied that he attacked any of the complainants Shadrack Ntim and Oheneba Ntim Katakyie with a crow. He said on entering the studios of Hot FM, about five people who were there pushed him away to the gates of the premises.

According to Bishop Obinim, in the process he hit himself on a glass door of one of the studios.

He said he only went to the studios of Hot FM to speak the truth over an alleged infidelity being discussed on the air.

Obinim was initially arraigned with his associate pastors – Kingsley Baah and Kofi Akwetey – and together charged with conspiracy to assault, unlawful entry and assault, but the trial judge in a ruling on a submission of no case, freed them.

Earlier on the trial judge dismissed all the charges against the bishop except for the offence of assault on the host of the Hot FM programme, Nya Asem Hwe, Kwame Okatakyie.

It noted that five persons who were said to be in the studios of Hot FM when the incident occurred were not called to testify in the matter.  According to the court those five witnesses were material witnesses for the case.

Throwing light on the prosecution witness one Shardrack Adu, failed to turn up in court to be cross examined after testifying.

The court, therefore, noted that his evidence was expunged from the court’s records. Considering his evidence, the court noted that he lied to the court, his evidence was compromised and that his evidence was bent on nailing Obinim.

In the case of Oheneba Ntim Okatakyie, the prosecution witness two, the court discredited his evidence because he claimed that Obinim attacked him with a crow bar and based on that he sustained injuries on his left arm.

Meanwhile, there was no evidence that indeed, Obinim attacked him with the crow bar.

It noted that the said crow bar was sent to the Adabraka Police Station by one Frank but there was no evidence as to who used it.

The court noted that Katakyie, who claimed that he sustained various degrees of injuries on his arm, the medical report from Ridge Hospital did not state so.

Also the evidence that due to the extent of damage caused on his arm, he sought for further medical attention in France. This court noted that Okatakyie could not produce any medical report to that effect.

According to the court, it could not rely on oral evidence but documentary evidence.

In the case of the court, Katakyie could have produced his passport to even show that he indeed travelled to France for further treatment.

According to the court the evidence of Okatakyie was “discredited and it intended to cause mischief”.

The case investigator was not spared by the court for failing to conduct proper investigations into the matter.

It noted that the case investigator, Detective Corporal Bismark Adu Gyamfi failed to investigate who used the crow bar and whether or not Obinim used the crow bar.

“At least the case investigator could have contacted the security man at Hot fm to confirm or tell whether or not Bishop Obinim entered the premises with the crow bar. His investigations was one sided,” the court noted.

On August 8, 2011, Bishop Obinim and two of his pastors stormed the premises of Hot FM and allegedly destroyed properties worth thousands of cedis. 

They were accused of assaulting two complainants Katakyie and Adu in the matter.

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