The Akyem Oda District Magistrate Court has ordered the Jesus End-Time Gospel Church International at Akyem Oda to vacate its premises within two months.
The court also ordered the church to end its night activities by 2000 hours and there should not be any drumming and all microphones should be put off.
Albert Owusu Annor, the Presiding Magistrate, gave the order when he convicted Charles Kofi Gyane and Bismarck Delali Tsahey, pastor and elder of the church respectively for making excessive noise during the church's night activities at Akyem Oda.
The convicts, who were fined a total of 400,000 cedis, would go to jail for three months in hard labour in default.
The court, which rejected an explanation by the church that it had taken steps to reduce its noise level by dismantling four out its six speakers, further ordered that all night long activities of the church should cease with immediate effect.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Ayanga Yakubu had told the court that the complainant is a Superintendent of Police at the Akyem Oda Division.
He said for sometime now the church had been making loud noise during its night services at Akyem Oda Gyaemenka residential area to disturb the complainant and the other residents.
The prosecutor said the church disregarded several warnings by the complainant to desist from making excessive noise.
Some of the church members who spoke on condition of anonymity soon after the verdict felt that the court was too harsh on the church as it infringed on their freedom to worship as guaranteed by the constitution.
They expressed surprise at the behaviour of the police officer to take the church to court.
The members contended that in the Police Service regulations, where a serving policeman felt aggrieved about an issue, he would have to channel the complaint through the Inspector General of Police (IGP) who would take action on the matter on his behalf but not the policeman himself.
Source: GNA
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