A pastor and five other individuals from a church in Balungu, located in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region, have been apprehended by the police following allegations of mistreating a five-week-old baby during a church service.
The individuals in question are Reverend Kwabena Atogpeelige Akongyaane, the Head Pastor of Jesus Spanner Miracle Church, Mary Akongyaane (the pastor’s wife and mother of the baby), Robert Aberinga Akugre, Veronica Ayamga, Zacchaeus Ayamga Avaliyemah, and Daniel Ayeliga Ageekilingo.
The arrests were made in relation to a widely circulated video that depicted a woman endangering the life of an infant. The footage, believed to have been recorded in early 2023 when the baby was approximately five weeks old, showed the woman swinging the child recklessly, with the baby’s head facing downwards.
The woman was seen tossing the baby in the air with one hand, holding onto the baby’s legs, and turning the child upside down amidst drumming and dancing by church members. Throughout the incident, the pastor and his wife, who are the biological parents of the child, were present but did not intervene.
In a previous interview with the Ghana News Agency, the Head Pastor acknowledged that the video originated from his church. He explained that it was a customary ritual in their church to welcome newborns. According to him, the ritual, which involved the actions seen in the video, was a directive from the Holy Spirit aimed at safeguarding the newborns in the church from spiritual attacks and negative influences.
“This is not the first time we have done something like this; we have been performing this ritual for all children born in the church to protect them from harmful spirits. We are simply following the commands of the Holy Spirit,” he stated.
Mary and Veronica, who are nursing mothers, were released on bail pending police investigation, while the remaining suspects were detained and are expected to face charges in court.
