Spiritual matters are not subject to prosecution unless published – Lawyer

Private Legal Practitioner, Lawyer Theophilus Donkor, says the law court cannot hold a person to account over spiritual matters.

He noted that issues of spirituality have no hard evidence which can be presented to the court for prosecution.

Citing an example to spirituality that can lead to prosecution, he noted, “so far as the revelation is published, then the man of God can be taken on.”

He made this stance in relation to a prophecy made by a man of God known as Bishop Stephen Akwasi (Jesus Ahuofe) about Ghanaian dancehall act, Shatta Wale. Ahuofe Jesus predicted that Shatta Wale would lose his life on October 18, 2021, in a similar fashion like that of Lucky Dube, who was shot on October 18, 2007.

Shatta Wale however on the said date embarked on what has now been confirmed as a prank, claiming he had been shot by unidentified assailants.

After the prank, the police has reportedly arrested both Shatta Wale and Ahuofe Jesus for questioning.

In an interview with Sefah-Danquah on the Happy Morning Show, Lawyer Theophilous Donkor stated, “We can’t prosecute someone based on spirituality because there is no evidence to be used against you. But in this case, the man of God published his statement and that’s why he’s being taken on. If you publish anything that causes fear and panic, then you have breached the public services act and section 208 of the criminal offenses act. The police arrested the man of God because of the publication he made.”

The lawyer believes if the man of God had contacted Shatta Wale in private to convey this information, “then we wouldn’t be experiencing this.”

According to him, every news portal which published the news on the alleged shooting incident can also be prosecuted “because they also didn’t do their due diligence in confirming the news. The keyword here is publication. Anyone who published the news is culpable so I am sure if the police get proper legal advice, then the media houses which published the news have breached section 208 of the criminal offenses act.”

Shatta Wale | Timepathhttps://timepath.co