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Thursday, November 30, 2006                                                                                       View Comments

Pastor arrested for attacking "patients"

GHANA — A 28-year-old self-styled pastor, Yaw Dadzie, who claim to have divine powers to heal the sick, especially lunatics, has been arrested by the police for his violent behaviour towards his patients.

Pastor Dadzie, who starts prayers for his patients by attacking them physically, said the people who went to him and the lunatics on the streets were possessed by multiple demonic spirits which could only be dealt with through violence.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic at the Sekondi Police Station where the Crime Officer of the Western Regional Police Command, Chief Superintendent Alex Bedie, briefed this reporter on the arrest, Pastor Dadzie said he was not mad but that he was under the instruction of the Holy Spirit.

He said the powers and the size of the demons which attacked the people were beyond human comprehension, adding, “Since the Kingdom of God suffered violence, it must be taken by force to bring God’s people out of bondage”.

He said he had been a member of the Christ Living Faith Church at Kojokrom in Takoradi but he was not given the chance to make use of his God-given potential.

The pastor said he worked as a carpenter, a mason and a steel bender to save enough money to embark on his mission under the instruction of the Holy Spirit.

According to Chief Superintendent Bedie, the police picked up the pastor because of his violent approach, which was a threat to the public and the society.

He mentioned, for instance, that while praying for a woman, the pastor held her neck, pinned her sat on her and instructed somebody to cut her hair, all along ignoring the woman’s cries for help.

Mr Bedie said the police had a tip-off and went to the rescue of the victim. He said they had managed to contact Pastor Dadzie’s family at Kojokrom and a leader of the church he had mentioned to the police.

According to the crime officer, the pastor’s mother, whose name was not given, said she had noticed a sudden change in her son after his return from Yeji, explaining that her son had claimed possessing healing powers.

The leaders of the Christ Living Faith Church had disowned Pastor Dadzie, saying his name was not on the list of members of the church.

He, therefore, advised members of the public to be careful about the activities of the self-styled pastor who claimed to have divine healing powers.


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