It has emerged that the gunmen who last week abducted a Deacon of the Ghanaian Pentecost Church in South Africa, were after a ransom.

Church of Pentecost sources tell Myjoyonline that the armed criminals who brazenly stormed a church service in progess and robbed worshippers of personal belongings and abducted a deacon (name withheld), also demanded a ransom of $160,000 for his release.

Ghana's High Commissioner to South Africa, Charles Owiredu took to X to announce his release on Wednesday, November 1, 2023.

“They had demanded that the money be paid in four days or the church would have itself to blame. Thank God footage of the incident went viral. It is certain that is what broke their resolve and scuppered their plans. The church did not pay anything. Eventually, the abductors set deacon (name withheld) free in an outlandish location. A Good Samaritan discovered him where they abandoned him by the roadside.

Asked if he was bound or harmed in any way, the sources answered in the negative, explaining that he only looked stranded as he was not familiar with his immediate surroundings. “The good Samaritan took him to the nearest police station from where the Ghana High Commission and church leaders were alerted of his discovery.”

The incident on October 29, which was captured in detail on tape, shocked many as the criminals conducted their nefarious business openly, kicking and ransacking the pockets of worshippers whom they ordered to lay down on their bellies.

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